Six losses on the spin has done what none of us expected after that seven-game winning start. We have one match remaining and still hold a chance. Our priority? To win first. Then pray for everything else to align.

Lucknow are already out, but they're at home and they have nothing to lose. Marsh has been brilliant all season. Rishabh Pant and Nicholas Pooran in the middle order are never easy to contain. Don't expect LSG to roll over.

Punjab can do this though. Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh have done well against good bowling sides this season too. Sarpanch Saab knows what a crunch game looks like. Marcus Stoinis on his day is a different level. And Arshdeep paaji in a big game - we've seen it enough times to know.

Here's the thing about Friday: a win doesn't just keep us alive. It knocks CSK and DC out of the race completely. A Punjab win puts RR and KKR on red alert - they will have their own matches to worry about, but the Shers making it to 15 points changes the picture entirely. RR still needs a win against MI to confirm their spot. Whereas KKR needs to beat DC and hope the results go their way. Win in Lucknow, and suddenly, the Punjab Kings are the team everyone else is watching. The fourth playoff spot is genuinely up for grabs - and Friday is our chance to plant our flag on it. Sadda time.

Six wins to start the season. This team knows how to win. Friday night in Lucknow is the chance to show it one more time.

7:30 PM. Ekana Stadium.

Come on, Kings.

Punjab Kings squad

Shreyas Iyer (Captain), Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh (wicketkeeper), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Azmatullah Omarzai, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harpreet Brar, Suryansh Shedge, Vishnu Vinod (wicketkeeper), Xavier Bartlett, Yash Thakur, Mitchell Owen, Harnoor Singh, Musheer Khan, Pyla Avinash, Marco Jansen, Lockie Ferguson, Cooper Connolly, Ben Dwarshuis, Pravin Dubey, Vishal Nishad