Lucknow Super Giants claimed a 6-wicket win over holders Chennai Super Kings as Marcus Stoinis’ unbeaten 124 run knock helped his side chase down the target of 211 in 19.3 overs at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Tuesday.
CSK notched up 210 runs in 20 overs thanks to skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad’s unbeaten 108-run knock and a brisk 66 by Shivam Dube, but the visitors got past the finish line in style as the Australian led from the front.
CSK were put to bat first as they opened the innings yet again with skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ajinkya Rahane, but the all-right-hand batting pair did not last long as Rahane was sent back to the hut by Matt Henry as LSG captain KL Rahul caught him behind the stumps.
Daryll Mitchell, who came in at No.3 on the day was handed an early reprieve with Yash Thakur dropping him at slips. Gaikwad, who registered a fifty in his previous game at The Den, settled in well on the night as he knocked boundaries at regular intervals.
Thakur earned retribution for his error on the field as he dismissed Mitchell in the final over of the powerplay as the Kiwi went before causing much damage. Chennai got past the fifty-run mark in the seventh over of the game with Ravindra Jadeja promoted up the batting order at No.4.
Gaikwad reached his fifty with a plethora of blazing shots around the park before Jadeja met his end at the hands of pacer Mohsin Khan after having scored 16 runs. Shivam Dube came in to replace his fallen fellow southpaw and accompanied his captain, who delighted the partisan yellow crowd as he capitalized on his good touch racking up runs with a plethora of textbook cricketing shots to keep the scoreboard ticking.
Dube resorted to what he does best as he knocked the LSG bowlers beyond the advertisement hoardings to evoke a raucous ovation from the stands every time the ball went out of play.
Gaikwad got the Chepauk faithful to their feet as he brought up his ton with a couple of boundaries off Thakur in the 18th over of the game before raising his willow in jubilation. Dube added the cherry on top with his fifty which was marked by three boundaries, two sixers and a four, off Mohsin’s over.
The pair of Gaikwad and Dube brought up their 100-run partnership for the fourth wicket in 44 deliveries as the latter smashed a maximum into the canopies that adorn the MAC.
Dube was caught short of the crease in the final over and was run out by Quinton de Kock in the final over, making way for what the crowd had paid to watch as MS Dhoni walked out to polish off the innings.
The flashlight on every cellular device in the house adorned the starry stadium as Dhoni put the final touch on the innings as CSK put up a total of 210 in 20 overs, with skipper Gaikwad unbeaten at his highest IPL total of 108.
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Deepak Chahar got the early break in the defence of the mammoth total as he castled de Kock, who pulled one onto his stumps in the first over. Rahul and Marcus Stoinis added 33 runs before Mustafizur Rahman got his name on the scoresheets with the scalp of Rahul, who was caught by his CSK counterpart Gaikwad at covers.
Lucknow brought up fifty runs on the scoreboard in the seventh over while CSK introduced spin from both ends with Moeen Ali and Jadeja coming in as first and second change bowlers on the day.
Stoinis paced his innings well to bring up his second fifty of the season in 26 deliveries, around the halfway mark of the chase, as the fans in the stadium acknowledged the Aussie’s efforts despite doing so in blue.
Matheesha Pathirana came up with a jaffa as he castled Devdutt Paddikal for 13 runs as the dangerous Nicholas Pooran walked out to take his place. Stoinis continued his strong going at one end, while Pooran added 34 runs in quick fashion before Pathirana scalped his second of the day to send the big-hitting Windies batter back to the dugout.
Stoinis’ fight was going strong as he brought up his maiden IPL ton and the audience stood up to clap just as they did for their own. The Australian’s innings, aided by some run-scoring from Deepak Hooda reduced the equation to 17 runs required off the final over.
Stoinis put the finishing touches on the game as he smashed four boundaries in the final over to elicit a runout onto the field from the LSG dugout in a spur of ecstatic emotion.
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