Match 13 of the 2025 Indian Premier League season brings us a clash between the Lucknow Super Giants and the Punjab Kings at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow on April 1, 2025.
For the game, here are our preview and predictions.
Indian Premier League 2025 | Match 13: Lucknow Super Giants vs Punjab Kings | 19:30 IST, April 1
The unbeaten Kings will be looking to continue their winning streak against the Super Giants, who will be looking to reach the top of the table themselves after a strong comeback win in their last game.
Rishabh Pant, LSG’s new captain and the most expensive player in IPL history, didn’t have the best of starts to his new stint as the Super Giants failed to defend 209 in their opening game. However, they hit back hard and in style against the dangerous SunRisers Hyderabad, getting a crucial early win.
LSG boast an explosive batting lineup featuring Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran, Pant, and David Miller. However, this also makes them reliant on an all-Indian bowling attack. Marsh and Pooran have been in form, but Markram and Pant haven’t got going yet. With the ever-reliable Miller slotted lower down the order, though, LSG have their death overs covered.
Shardul Thakur has been LSG’s standout player and leading wicket-taker. Other LSG pacers are thin on experience, though they are supported by two talented spinners in Ravi Bishnoi and Shahbaz Ahmed.
PBKS, on the other hand, led by last year’s title-winning captain Shreyas Iyer, have started this season in stellar fashion. In their opening game, Iyer’s explosive 97*, along with some late runs from Shashank Singh, saw them put up an incredible 243/5 before securing an 11-run win in a high-scoring encounter.
The top of PBKS’ batting order may not have a ton of experience, but young Priyansh Arya impressed in the opening game with a quick-fire 47, while the team have sufficient experience and firepower lower down the order with the likes of Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis.
Arshdeep Singh, who is quickly becoming a T20 specialist, leads Punjab’s bowling attack alongside Marco Jansen, who can be a handful on seamer-friendly pitches. Their go-to Impact Player, Vijaykumar Vyshak, also stood out in the opener as his pitch-perfect yorkers made sure they held on for the win.
Known to be a high-scoring ground, the Ekana Stadium will bring about plenty of runs, especially given the batting lineups of both teams, with some assistance to the seamers. There’s little to choose between either team, but Punjab’s form and squad strength gives them the edge in this encounter.
Fantasy XI: Mitchell Marsh, Rishabh Pant, Nicholas Pooran, Shreyas Iyer, Glenn Maxwell, David Miller, Shardul Thakur, Ravi Bishnoi, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Harpreet Brar
Venue: Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow
Winners Prediction: Punjab Kings
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