Big picture – a tale of two captains
While both have been hard to ignore, the attention on Pant was always greater than Kishan. Over the last 18 months, though, that story has flipped. Pant, a T20 World Cup winner himself in 2024, has since slipped out of India’s T20I plans, while Kishan has pushed his way firmly back into contention with strong form in domestic cricket and then in his second run with the India T20I side. As it stands, Pant is still searching for his best batting position in the format, while Kishan, also a T20 World Cup winner, is among the most destructive No. 3s and far more assured of his game.
Ten years on from Dhaka, the paths of two once-prodigies cross again, this time as captains. An afternoon start in Hyderabad is unlikely to offer much respite for bowlers and will bring into focus how the wicketkeeping batters lead their sides.
Key question
Team news – Cummins out of action
Sunrisers Hyderabad (probable) 1 Abhishek Sharma, 2 Travis Head, 3 Ishan Kishan (capt, wk), 4 Heinrich Klaasen, 5 Aniket Verma, 6 Nitish Kumar Reddy, 7 Salil Arora, 8 Harsh Dubey, 9 Shivang Kumar/Harshal Patel, 10 Jaydev Unadkat, 11 Eshan Malinga, 12 David Payne/Brydon Carse.
On match eve, LSG bowling coach Bharat Arun said Digvesh Rathi will play in Hyderabad after missing the first game. There are no fitness concerns just yet.
Lucknow Super Giants (probable) 1 Mitchell Marsh, 2 Rishabh Pant (capt, wk), 3 Aiden Markram, 4 Nicholas Pooran, 5 Ayush Badoni, 6 Abdul Samad, 7 Mukul Choudhary, 8 Mohammad Shami, 9 Anrich Nortje, 10 Prince Yadav, 11 Mohsin Khan, 12 Digvesh Rathi
In the spotlight – Nicholas Pooran
Nicholas Pooran has not crossed 17 in seven of his last eight T20s with form eluding him in the SA20 in January and no cricket in February and March. He has scored only 121 runs across 99 balls in T20s this calendar year and is averaging 15. He has also hit only nine sixes in his last eight T20s. He started IPL 2026 with a sluggish eight-ball 8. Can a batting-friendly Hyderabad surface just be what he needs to turn his fortunes around?
As a left-arm wristspinner, Shivang Kumar is a rarity in the IPL and could be a point of difference in the SRH XI. In the Vijay Hazare Trophy, he took a five-wicket haul against Karnataka and scored a half-century against Jharkhand. In Kolkata, he conceded only two runs more than Sunil Narine and had much better figures than Varun Chakravarthy. A good enough show to give him a run in the afternoon game in Hyderabad?
Stats and trivia
Pitch and conditions
The last time an afternoon game happened on this surface (pitch no. 2), SRH pumped 286 while Rajasthan Royals responded with 242. In the last six games on this pitch, the honours have been shared 3-3 between sides batting first and chasing. However, on this occasion, there is some risk of weather threatening the match with rain forecast in the afternoon.
Next three fixtures
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Apr 11: vs Punjab Kings, New Chandigarh
Apr 13: vs Rajasthan Royals, Hyderabad
Apr 18: vs Chennai Super Kings, Hyderabad
Lucknow Super Giants
Apr 9: vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Kolkata
Apr 12: vs Gujarat Titans, Lucknow
Apr 15: vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Bengaluru
Quotes
“It is a traditionally high-scoring track and we have a good record defending. But we enjoy chasing as well. As a group, you want to be equally confident no matter the situation. We are the first team this season to defend the score. It’s important for us to do both things well and our batting group has the ability to adapt.”
Sunrisers Hyderabad head coach Daniel Vettori
“T20 is always batter friendly. Batters are expected to play big shots and that’s what the crowd comes for. But personally, I find bowlers have an opportunity to come good and become heroes. A bowler has to trust his abilities in order to do well.
Lucknow Super Giants bowling coach Bharat Arun
Sreshth Shah is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo. @sreshthx
