as IPL 2026 season draws to a close, Match 50 brings a high-stakes encounter to the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow. The fight on Thursday Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) they host high flyers Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). For LSG, sitting at the bottom of the table, it’s fight or die to keep their mathematical playoff hopes alive. On the contrary, Rajat Patidar-led RCB side trying to consolidate their top two positions. However, the most talked about point during the shootout was not just the strategy, but the significant shortcomings in the LSG camp.
Why are Mohsin Khan and Josh English not playing in today’s match against RCB?
Lucknow Super Giants suffered a major blow just before the start of the game, losing two key overseas and domestic assets to injuries. LSG captain during firing Rishabh pants confirmed both Josh English and Mohsen Khan are out due to fitness concerns.
According to team reports, Inglis, who recently joined the team to bolster the top order, is nursing a minor injury, revealed to have been picked up during a recent net training session. A young all-rounder in his place Arshin Kulkarni drafted into the XI to partner Mitchell Marsh above. Absence on the bowling front Mohsen Khan is believed to be more harmful. Mohsun, a standout performer for LSG this season with his ability to swing the ball and provide breakthroughs at the death, has been undermanned.
Commenting on the changes during the innings, Rishabh Pant said:
“We have several injuries in our team. So Arshin (Kulkarni) comes in for Inglis, he is a bit injured. Mohsin is also a little injured and Shahbaz (Ahmed) comes to Sid (Manimaran Siddharth). The only thing is to act more clearly. We know we are the best players, but at the same time, when there is no clarity, that can happen in cricket… In T20 cricket, it is important to have a stable environment, but when changes are needed, you have to be able to change because doing the same thing may not give you the same result..”
Pant also noted that the Lucknow court looked like a better surface than in previous games and estimated a par score of around 180-190.
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Playing XI and effective substitutes of both teams
Both teams made tactical changes to adapt to the Lucknow conditions, with RCB opting to tent first after winning the toss to take advantage of any potential dew in the evening.
Lucknow Super Giants (XI game): Mitchell Marsh, Arshin Kulkarni, Nicholas Pooran, Aiden Markram, Rishabh Pant (w/c), Akshat Raghuvanshi, Himmat Singh, Shahbaz Ahmed, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Mohammed Shami, Prince Yadav.
Lucknow Super Giants Impact Subs: Mayank Yadav, Mukul Choudhary, Abdul Samad, Manimaran Siddharth, Avesh Khan.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (XI Game): Jacob Bethell, Virat KohliDevdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (c), Jitesh Sharma (w), Krunal Pandya, Romario Shepherd, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Suyash Sharma, Rasikh Salam Dar, Josh Hazlewood.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru Impact Subs: Jordan Cox, Tim David, Mangesh Yadav, Vicky Ostwal, Venkatesh Iyer.
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