Punjab Kings vs Lucknow Super Giants: Rahul's face off against his previous franchise 

with play resuming at Pune. Both the teams have seen a mixed share of performances and will be looking forward to keeping the winning streak alive from their previous match.

Punjab Kings so far has won 4 out of the eight matches played. They must be struggling with confidence after a 9-wicket humiliating loss against Delhi Capitals but made a terrific comeback against Chennai Super Kings to steal the game in their favour. They have not been able to find consistency yet. They will look to fix the inconsistency prevalent in their batting order and set combinations right. The inclusion of Sandeep Sharma and Rishi Dhawan provided their bowling unit with a balance alongside Kagiso Rabada and Arshdeep Singh. Shikhar Dhawan will look to continue his form from the previous match and help the team build or chase the total.

On the other hand, Lucknow Super Giants have managed to find the right combinations for their team. They need to be consistent and work on little loopholes in their performance. The batting department is mainly dependent on skipper KL Rahul's knock. He is primarily responsible for anchoring the innings for the team. Quinton de Kock, Manish Pandey and Marcus Stoinis are yet to fire big from their bats. The Bowling unit is well balanced. Mohsin Khan taking over in the absence of Avesh Khan highlights their bench strength.

Pitch Report

The pitch of Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune, has a lot to offer to both batters and bowlers. Teams have been successful in defending totals in previous fixtures held here. Toss or dew might not be an essential factor in tonight's game.

Probable Playing XI

Punjab Kings: Mayank Agarwal (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Jonny Bairstow, Kagiso Rabada, Rishi Dhawan, Arshdeep Singh, Rahul Chahar, Sandeep Sharma

Lucknow Super Giants: KL Rahul (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Krunal Pandya, Manish Pandey, Ayush Badoni, Deepak Hooda, Jason Holder, Marcus Stoinis, Dushmantha Chameera, Avesh Khan/Mohsin Khan, Ravi Bishnoi

Stats to keep an eye on

• KL Rahul is one of only three batters to have struck at more than 145 against both pace and spin (minimum 100 runs against each type). Jos Buttler and David Miller are the other two.
• Against Kagiso Rabada, Quinton de Kock has scored 89 runs off 61 balls without any dismissal, but Arshdeep Singh has got him out twice in 14 balls while giving away only 14 runs.
• Out of eight, Punjab Kings have lost seven tosses this season.

KL Rahul will be leading the new franchise against his previously captained franchise that he anchored for two years. It will be interesting to see how he carries himself as captain and batter against Punjab Kings.