IPL 2026: PBKS win toss, opt to bowl first against SRH in top spot clash

Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and opted to bowl against Sunrisers Hyderabad in match 49 of IPL 2026. The winner of the clash in Hyderabad will take the top spot on the points table. Shashank Singh returns for PBKS.

Punjab Kings (PBKS) skipper Shreyas Iyer won the toss against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and decided to bowl first in match 49 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. The match is being played at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad, and PBKS are leading the points table with 13 points. SRH, on the other hand, are third on the table with 12 points, and the winner will take the top spot after the match.

Team News and Captains' Comments

PBKS all-rounder Shashank Singh is making his comeback in the playing XI after missing the last game against the Gujarat Titans, which they lost by four wickets.

After winning the toss, PBKS skipper Iyer said, "We will bowl first. So far, we have learned amazing things in the last few matches we have lost. We have no complaints so far because of travelling. Everyone is holding up well as professionals. Last match SRH chased, so I thought we would bowl. Shashank comes in."

For SRH, ace all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy made his comeback in the playing XI after missing the last game. SRH skipper Pat Cummins said, "I also would have bowled first. Hopefully, we come up great tonight. The crowds have supported us very well this season. I can't really judge the pitch; hopefully, we will put some runs on the board. Nitish is back for us tonight."

Playing XI

Punjab Kings

Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Prabhsimran Singh(w), Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer(c), Shashank Singh, Suryansh Shedge, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Lockie Ferguson, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal.

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Sunrisers Hyderabad (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan(w), Heinrich Klaasen, Salil Arora, Smaran Ravichandran, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Pat Cummins(c), Shivang Kumar, Eshan Malinga, Sakib Hussain.

Impact Subs

Punjab Kings

Punjab Kings Impact Subs: Priyansh Arya, Harpreet Brar, Xavier Bartlett, Vishnu Vinod, Musheer Khan.

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Sunrisers Hyderabad Impact subs: Aniket Verma, Praful Hinge, Liam Livingstone, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel. (ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)