Lucknow Super Giants 211/4 (Quinton de Kock 61, Evin Lewis 55*; Dwaine Pretorius 2/32) in 19.3 overs Six wickets defeat Chennai Super Kings 210/7 (Robin Uthappa 50, Shivam Dube 49; Ravi Bishnoi 2/24).
Lucknow Super Giants vs Chennai Super Kings Highlights:
Evin Lewis’ unbroken fifty helped LSG chase down 211 against CSK in Mumbai on Thursday night, securing the franchise’s first victory in the Indian Premier League. In a six-wicket victory, Lewis hammered 55 off 23 balls, while Quinton de Kock top-scored with 61 off 45. Ayush Badoni produced yet another impressive performance, keeping unblemished on 19 off 9. CSK had earlier posted a massive 210/7 at the Brabourne Stadium thanks to a quickfire fifty from Robin Uthappa, but the total wasn’t enough as the reigning champions lost for the second time in a row.
The return of famous allrounder Moeen Ali will be welcomed by Chennai Super Kings, who are hoping for a much better batting performance against Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL. Both clubs are coming off of losses in their respective opening matches. The failure of their top-order has been a recurring theme in their failures, and they will be trying to rectify that at the Brabourne Stadium.
Although it is still early in the two-month IPL, the toss has already shown to be a key factor in the game’s result. Teams are choosing to put the opposition in with the second innings dew in mind.
CSK and LSG both lost after batting first at the Wankhede. At the neighbouring CCI venue, conditions are forecast to be similar, with heavy dew expected in the second half of the game.
KL Rahul, the captain of Lucknow, and star opener Quinton De Kock had a poor day on Monday and would be eager to get some runs under their belt. With the IPL putting his leadership abilities to the test, Rahul must lead from the front.
Manish Pandey, a seasoned campaigner, and Evin Lewis, a hard-hitting batsman who can take any attack to the cleaners on their day, had a forgettable performance, and the team management will hope that they show up for the celebration.
Lucknow would be relieved that their middle-order, which includes Deepak Hooda, newcomer Ayush Badoni, and Krunal Pandya, came together when their top-order crumbled and the three had to bear the burden once again.
The Lucknow bowlers, on the other hand, will have to swiftly forget about their thrashing at the hands of Gujarat. While pacer Dushmantha Chameera bowled well, co-pacer Avesh Khan let up 33 runs in 3.4 overs.
The involvement of the spin three of Ravi Bishnoi, Hooda, and Krunal might also determine the outcome of the match.
CSK will also want to improve their batting performance after scoring just 131 in the first game. They would breathe a sigh of relief if Moeen Ali, a pinch-hitter, was available to play with Dwaine Pretorius.
Except for a classic Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the other batsmen failed in the first game, including Ruturaj Gaikwad, Robin Uthappa, Devon Conway, and Ambati Rayadu.
Ravindra Jadeja, the new captain, would also want to earn a huge individual score, as would Shivam Dube, who is in a race against time to establish his value on the IPL stage.
But it’ll be interesting to watch who CSK leaves out in order to make room for Moeen, who may come in at number three.
While all-rounder Dwayne Bravo took three wickets against KKR, others let up runs, and they’ll have to work together to win.
Full Squads
Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja (Captain), Moeen Ali, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Dwayne Bravo, Dwayne Bravo, Deepak Chahar, Ambati Rayadu, Robin Uthappa, Mitchell Santner, Chris Jordan, Adam Milne, Devon Conway, Shivam Dube, Dwaine Pretorius, Maheesh Theekshana, Rajvardhan Hangargekar,
Lucknow Super Giants: Manan Vohra, Evin Lewis, Manish Pandey, Quinton De Kock, Ravi Bishnoi, Dushmantha Chameera, Mohsin Khan, Mayank Yadav, Ankit Rajpoot, Avesh Khan, Andrew Tye, Marcus Stoinis, Kyle Mayers, Karan Sharma, Krishnappa Gowtham, Ayush Badoni, Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya, Andrew Tye, Marcus Sto Jason Holder is a writer.