LSG look to fix home woes as GT challenge awaits

Lucknow Super Giants will walk into Sunday afternoon’s IPL 2026 clash against Gujarat Titans carrying both confidence and a point to prove. While recent away wins have lifted the mood in the camp, their record at home in the Ekana Cricket Stadium remains an area they are keen to fix.

Back-to-back victories against Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders have given the side momentum. Those results showed what the team is capable of when things click, especially under pressure. But the challenge now is to bring that same energy and execution to their home ground, where results haven’t quite gone their way.

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Last season, Lucknow struggled badly at Ekana, losing six of their eight matches, including a streak of five defeats on the trot. That poor run played a big role in their seventh-place finish. Even overall, nine wins from 22 matches at the venue doesn’t reflect the kind of dominance a team expects at home.

The pattern seemed to continue earlier this season as well, when they were bowled out for 141 in their opening home game against Delhi Capitals and lost by six wickets. With only their second home fixture coming up now, there is a clear intent within the group to turn things around.

There are, however, plenty of positives. The emergence of Mukul Choudhary has been one of the biggest talking points. The 21-year-old announced himself in style against KKR with a fearless display of hitting at the death. His bat speed, confidence and range, including a helicopter shot reminiscent of MS Dhoni, have added a new edge to the lower order and given the team a genuine finisher.

Ayush Badoni finding form again is another boost. His half-century in the same game helped set up the chase and added stability to a batting unit that already looks strong on paper. With Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, captain Rishabh Pant and Nicholas Pooran forming the core, the batting lineup has both depth and firepower.

Gujarat Titans, though, will not make things easy. They come into the game after a thrilling one-run win over Delhi Capitals — a result that would have done wonders for their confidence. They have quality across departments and players stepping up at the right time.

The contest could well hinge on how Lucknow handle Gujarat’s spin attack, particularly Rashid Khan and Washington Sundar. Rashid looked back to his best in the last game, picking up 3/17 and making a strong statement after facing some criticism. On a Lucknow pitch that can be slow and unpredictable, his role could be crucial again.

Gujarat also look stronger with the bat now. Jos Buttler has found rhythm with a quick 52 off 27 balls, while Shubman Gill marked his return from injury with a fluent 70, giving them solidity at the top.

Head-to-head numbers slightly favour Gujarat, who have won four of the seven meetings. But Lucknow have had the better of recent encounters, winning the last three, which should give them belief.

The Ekana surface is expected to be balanced. While it produced high-scoring games last season, the first match this year was on the lower side, with 142 being chased comfortably. Lucknow would hope for conditions that also bring their pace attack, led by Mohammed Shami, into play.

Being an afternoon game, conditions are unlikely to change much through the match. Both teams might prefer chasing given their batting strength, but for Lucknow Super Giants, the bigger focus will finally be getting it right at home.

Squads:

Lucknow Super Giants: Rishabh Pant (c), Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, Himmat Singh, Matthew Breetzke, Mukul Choudhary, Akshat Raghuwanshi, Josh Inglis, Nicholas Pooran, Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahamad, Arshin Kulkarni, Ayush Badoni, Mohammed Shami, Avesh Khan, M. Siddharth, Digvesh Singh, Akash Singh, Prince Yadav, Arjun Tendulkar, Anrich Nortje, Naman Tiwari, Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan

Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill (c), Sai Sudharsan, Kumar Kushagra, Anuj Rawat, Jos Buttler, Nishant Sindhu, Washington Sundar, Arshad Khan, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Ishant Sharma, Gurnoor Singh Brar, Rashid Khan, Manav Suthar, Sai Kishore, Jayant Yadav, Glenn Phillips, Jason Holder, Ashok Sharma, Luke Wood, Prithvi Raj Yarra, Tom Banton.