SYNOPSIS: Despite a late comeback by Chennai Super Kings with the bat, KL Rahul led from the front with a 53-ball 82 as Lucknow Super Giants get back to winning ways.
At the halfway mark, the momentum was very much in favour of Chennai Super Kings after a late burst. On a two-paced pitch, a target of 177 was not going to be easy, if Lucknow stuck to their template of saving wickets and freeing up at the end. On such pitches, playing big hits off the older ball always comes with a risk, especially if one factors in the huge outfield at the Ekana stadium.
So KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock came out with a different template. In home conditions, Lucknow’s batsmen have a knack of getting the job done by taking calculated risks. Fully aware of how this pitch would play, Lucknow’s openers straightaway got down to putting pressure on Chennai’s attack. With Deepak Chahar still struggling, Rahul wasted no time in going after him. A straight six off a good length delivery revealed his intentions. This was not going to be a night when Rahul was content to going at a strike rate in the 120s. So out came those drives and whips as De Kock went at his usual pace. The three sixes and five boundaries in the Powerplay meant Lucknow had 54 runs on board and the asking rate was in control.
For a team used to defending totals with ease at Ekana stadium, what followed was Lucknow showing they can master the chase as well.
A smooth ride
In a season where even totals in excess of 200 haven’t been safe, after a strong start, Lucknow didn’t need to do anything extraordinary. But it didn’t mean Rahul went into a shell. With Matheesha Pathirana being Chennai’s trump card, he straightaway put him under pressure, taking him down for a six. Then in Ravindra Jadeja’s third over, he played those trademark cuts, against the bowler who was already deflated after Pathirana had dropped De Kock in his previous over.
With the score being 89/0 after 10 overs meant Lucknow were now jogging in their chase. After two quiet overs, they picked up the pace again as Rahul and De Kock slowly shut the door before departing. The only question at that stage was how soon Lucknow would get there and boost their run rate.
But, despite having wickets at hand, they never showed any urgency as they crossed Chennai’s total with only an over to spare.
Surprises on and off the field
Unless forced, Chennai isn’t a team that likes to change its personnel. But this has been a very strange season, where they have been more proactive with regards to making changes to the XI. For a franchise known to give long ropes to resources they trust massively, it came as a big surprise when Daryl Mitchell was dropped and in came Moeen Ali.
Lucknow: Chennai Super Kings batter Ravindra Jadeja celebrates his fifty runs during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 T20 cricket match between Chennai Super Kings and Lucknow Super Giants at Ekana Cricket Stadium, in Lucknow, Friday, April 19, 2024. (PTI Photo/Manvender Vashist Lav)
The changes didn’t stop there. They continued to open the batting with Ajinkya Rahane. But, when they lost Rachin Ravindra and Ruturaj Gaikwad inside the Powerplay, in walked Jadeja. Chennai’s coaching staff have been talking about having fluidity in the middle order where everyone has to be comfortable at any position. But with Jadeja coming in at 4, at the fag end of the Powerplay, one had to keep an eye on how he went against spinners. Thanks to his limitations as a T20 batsman, spinners have found it easy to tie down Jadeja.
But for a change, Jadeja overcame that weakness. He is a batsman with a strike rate of 97.02 against leg-spinners in T20s, and Ravi Bishnoi nearly had him off the second ball he bowled to Jadeja. But thereafter despite cutting down on the risk, the left-hander managed to find boundaries of Bishnoi and Krunal Pandya.
As Chennai lost the wickets of Rahane, Shivam Dube and Impact Player Sameer Rizvi, Jadeja in the company of Moeen went back to do what he knows best. Keep the score ticking without taking risks. It meant Chennai went 34 deliveries without a boundary, but with half the side back in the hut, their immediate focus was on keeping wickets in the hand for a late surge.
The finishing touches
Having gone at a run rate of 7.06 into the death overs, for Chennai to remain in the game at the halfway stage, they needed boundaries. After finding a four in the 15th over – their first since the 10th over – Jadeja brought up his fifty with Deepak Hooda tipping an offering over the boundary rope for a six. It signalled a change of momentum. And in the next over, Moeen slog-swept two sixes off Ravi Bishnoi before flat-batting another one wide of long-off. Three successive sixes meant Chennai were in for a grandstand finish.
And that was provided by who else but MS Dhoni. With Moeen departing in an attempt to go for a fourth consecutive six off Bishnoi, in walked Dhoni. He hit Mohsin Khan for a boundary through the covers before walking across the stumps and guiding the ball over the wicketkeeper’s head for a six. Lucknow, for the first time on the night, were under pressure. With only four fielders allowed in the final over because of a slow over rate, Dhoni managed to hit two boundaries and a six off Yash Thakur as Chennai managed to get 63 runs off the final four overs.
Brief scores: Chennai Super Kings 176/6 in 20 overs (Ravindra Jadeja 57 not out, Ajinkya Rahane 36; Krunal Pandya 2/16) lost to Lucknow Super Giants 180/2 in 19 overs (KL Rahul 82, Quinton de Kock 54) by eight wickets
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