The buzz is high as two Gen Bold captains, Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya, face each other at Ekana Stadium as LSG hosts Mumbai Indians, and MI won the toss and have decided to bowl first. With that, the fans got to hear a little fun cry from Rishabh Pant, who just lost the loss. Meanwhile, Akash Deep, who had been suffering from injury since the Border Gavaskar Trophy, is back with the Lucknow team. On the other hand, Mumbai will be missing Rohit Sharma due to injury. Mumbai Indians and Lucknow Super Giants squared off with contrasting game plans. Mumbai, under Hardik Pandya, focused less on overanalyzing conditions and more on adaptability. The pitch, though fresh, was unpredictable. Dew was expected later, but Mumbai stuck to clarity and execution. Rohit Sharma missed out due to a knee injury, though Jasprit Bumrah’s return looks near. Lucknow, despite recent batting struggles—including from captain Rishabh Pant—backed their lineup to express freely and play to the situation. Confidence remained intact, and they believed a turnaround was close. Akash Deep replaced M Siddharth in the XI. As for the surface, Daren Ganga reported a shift from the red-soil wicket used previously to a black-soil one tonight. The pitch looked dark, had some grass, and a few bare patches. While seamers may not find much, spinners could get grip due to expected lower bounce. The square boundaries measure 66m and 73m, with a straight hit of 78m. A first-innings score of 181 remains the benchmark here. Read also: Ruturaj Gaikwad Doubtful vs DC, Dhoni May Lead CSK Playing XI for both teams: Lucknow Super Giants: Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant(C)(WK), Ayush Badoni, David Miller, Abdul Samad, Shardul Thakur, Digvesh Singh, Akash Deep, Avesh Khan. Impact sub: Lucknow Super Giants (Playing XI) - Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant(C)(WK), Ayush Badoni, David Miller, Abdul Samad, Shardul Thakur, Digvesh Singh, Akash Deep, Avesh Khan. Mumbai Indians: Will Jacks, Ryan Rickelton(WK), Naman Dhir, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya(C), Raj Angad Bawa, Mitchell Santner, Trent Boult, Ashwani Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Vignesh Puthur. Impact Sub: Tilak Varma, Corbin Bosch, Robin Minz, Satyanarayana Raju, Karn Sharma.