At Mumbai’s Brabourne Stadium on Thursday, Lucknow Super Giants stunned defending champions Chennai Super Kings to win their first match of the Indian Premier League. Evin Lewis’ 23-ball half-century, the fastest in IPL 2022, was the highlight of the LSG victory.
Quinton de Kock smashed 61, KL Rahul smashed 40, and Ayush Badoni backed up his half-century against Gujarat Titans with a stunning cameo as LSG bowled CSK out for the second time in the Indian Premier League this season.
While a disastrous batting display, CSK lost their first match of the season to Kolkata Knight Riders. On a terrific batting pitch on Thursday, they were considerably better, with Robin Uthappa and Moeen Ali laying a solid foundation for them.
MS Dhoni came out and struck an unbeaten 16 off 6 balls to set up a difficult chase for Lucknow Super Giants. Shivam Dube and Ambati Rayudu both played key innings. Rahul and de Kock got off to a flying start on a flat field against two inexperienced new-ball bowlers, adding 99 for the first wicket before Lewis’s onslaught ensured LSG had two points.
KL Rahul and De Kock charge:
Moreover, KL Both Rahul and Quinton de Kock have a lot of experience as openers. They didn’t have a fantastic start against Gujarat Titans in their first IPL encounter, but they were on fire versus defending champions Chennai Super Kings. Tushar Deshpande did well to give away 17
runs off his two overs against an attacking opening combination. Rahul and de Kock were brutal against Mukesh Choudhary. Quinton de Kock got his half-century in 34 balls after being dropped by Moeen Ali in Dwayne Bravo’s opening over.
Meanwhile, LSG were cruising along until Dwaine Pretorius, who was making his CSK debut, removed KL Rahul in his first over with a wonderful running catch by Ambati Rayudu. Even if the LSG skipper was furious with his shot selection, his 26-ball 40 had set the tone for Lucknow. At No. 3, Manish Pandey stepped in to bat, but he didn’t last long.
As the momentum turned in a high-scoring game, Tushar Deshpande, back for his second spell, caught Pandey at mid-off. Quinton de Kock and Evin Lewis had formed yet another potentially dangerous partnership. Even when CSK slid in some economical overs, the two left-handers, Lewis in particular, had kept LSG in the chase for 211.
In his penultimate over, Lewis was harsh against Deshpande, but CSK came back when Pretorious removed fellow South African Quintin de Kock. Robin Uthappa was promoted to the position of opening the order, and he was a disaster.
Ruturaj Gaikwad, the 2021 Orange Cap winner, has had a dismal start to the IPL 2022 season, having been dismissed for a duck in the season opener and then being run out for 1 against Lucknow Super Giants on Thursday. But it didn’t stop Robin Uthappa from launching a barrage of attacks on the LSG bowlers. He was irrepressible, smashing eight boundaries and a six in only 25 balls to reach his half-century.
As a result, Moeen Ali did not play for CSK against KKR, but he returned with a bang. Moeen Ali, batting at No. 3, hammered 35 off 22 balls, including four fours and two sixes. CSK’s projected total had grown to frightening dimensions while he was at the crease. Of course, this is terrifying for LSG. Avesh Khan eventually sent Moeen back – the cameo was fun while it lasted, but now it was Shivam Dube and Ambati Rayudu’s turn.
Shivam Dube and Ambati Rayudu, for one, did not let the momentum slip away. The two accumulated 60 runs in 6.1 overs – Dube was the more aggressive of the two, but Rayudu did his fair share of damage before being bowled for a 20-ball 27 by Ravi Bishnoi. CSK stayed on track for a massive total thanks to this relationship.
In the course of his 6-ball 16, MS Dhoni became the sixth Indian to score 7000 T20 runs. He came out firing, striking Avesh Khan for six and four after the latter had dismissed Shivam Dube. Andrew Tye was brilliant in the final over of the CSK innings, dismissing Ravindra Jadeja and Dwaine Pretorius with successive deliveries, but Dhoni hit a boundary off the next ball to get his century, and CSK concluded on 210 for 7 after 20 overs.
Published By : Ankit Singh
Edited By : Khushi Thakur
