LSG vs CSK Highlights: After losing five matches on the trot, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) registered their second victory when they beat Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by 5 wickets in their Indian Premier League (IPL) clash at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Monday. CSK achieved the 167-run target, with 3 balls to spare as LSG crashed to their third defeat in this edition.
Here are the five points that made the difference between victory and defeat:
Nicholas Pooran’s rare failure:
Nicholas Pooran is the highest run scorer in this edition of the IPL so far. The Orange Cap holder is the only batsman to cross the 350-run mark in this edition.
All were braced up another Pooran onslaught at the Ekana but that was not to be as the West Indian was trapped plumb in front of the wicket by Anshul Kamboj on the last delivery of the fourth over of the innings for 8.
Rishabh Pant finally strikes form:
Rishabh Pant was under considerable pressure coming into this match. The LSG captain had scores of 0, 15, 2, 2, DNB and 21 coming into this match. But Pant today gave glimpses of what made him the most expensive player in IPL auction history as he top scored for LSG with a 49-ball 63 to take them to 166/7 in their 20 overs.
Pant registered his first 50-plus score after 19 innings in T20 cricket smashing 4 sixes and 4 fours in his knock. But Pant missed a trick in the CSK innings when he made Ravi Bishnoi bowl only 3 overs and not his full quota of overs even though the leg-spinner had taken 2 wickets.
Vintage Dhoni dazzles, at last:
The stage was set for India legend and CSK captain MS Dhoni to showcase his vintage strokeplay. Earlier, with the gloves, Dhoni had effected 3 dismissals – a stumping, a run out and a catch – to become the first player to complete 200 IPL dismissals.
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Dhoni walked in to bat with CSK at 111/5 after 15 overs, with the game loaded a bit in favour of LSG. And Dhoni brought all his experience into play to finally finish off a match for his team in this edition of the IPL, by hitting a six and 4 fours in his unbeaten 26-run knock that came off 11 balls.
The Shardul Thakur over:
CSK needed 24 runs off the last two overs when Shardul Thakur came in to bowl the penultimate over. Dhoni had already hit a one-handed six to the mid-wicket fence on the last ball of Thakur’s previous over, so the bowler was under pressure.
And Thakur broke under pressure and conceded 19 runs off the over as both Dhoni and Dube took boundaries off the Mumbai veteran. Thakur had his moment to strike back with the wicket of Dhoni on the third ball of the ball but Ravi Bishnoi dropped a simple catch at mid-off. Thakur finished his spell at 4-0-56-0.
Shivam Dube comes of age:
Shivam Dube played the perfect foil to Dhoni’s finishing knock. Dube hit 2 sixes and 3 fours in his unbeaten 27-ball 43 and his unbeaten 57-run stand for the sixth wicket with Dhoni enabled the Super Kings to come back to their winning ways.
Avesh Khan bowled the last over for LSG when they had only 5 to defend and to make things worse for LSG they were given an over-rate penalty, which meant that they had to have an extra fielder in the ring. Impact sub Dube hit the winning runs with a boundary through the covers to get CSK their first win after five consecutive defeats this season.
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