The 34th Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 match between the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow. After winning the toss, Kl Rahul opted to field first. “We’ll bowl first. Looks like a good wicket, dew hasn’t been a big factor. Hopefully, it stays good for 40 overs. We would like to know what we are chasing. There weren’t any blunders we made. Last game against KKR was a big defeat,” Rahul said at the toss.
The former captain and wicketkeeper-batter MS Dhoni led his team to a score of 176/6 after 20 overs with an innings of 9 balls and 28 runs. In the eighteenth over, MS Dhoni entered the field following Moeen Ali’s dismissal.Besides MSD, Ravindra Jadeja’s half-century (57* in 40 balls, with five fours and a six) and important wickets from Moeen Ali (30 in 20 balls, with three sixes) and Ajinkya Rahane (36 in 24 balls) pushed CSK to 176/6 in their 20 overs.
This season, MS Dhoni has scored 87 runs at a remarkable strike rate of 255.88, with a highest score of 37 runs against the Delhi Capitals. In addition, MS Dhoni impressed in Friday’s match between the Chennai Super Kings and Lucknow Super Giants, helping CSK chase down 176 in 20 overs with an undefeated 28 off 9 balls.
Rahul (82) and De Kock (54) of the Lucknow Super Giants batted brilliantly throughout their match-winning knock of 134, the greatest partnership for any wicket at the Ekana Stadium, as they chased the 177 total. Quinton de Kock hit five fours and a six in his 43-ball knock, while Rahul hit nine fours and three sixes in his 53 balls.KL Rahul was out with only 16 runs needed while De Kock was dismissed in the 15th over.
Both Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) have secured four wins from seven games. Despite this, CSK holds the third position while LSG is placed fifth in the standings. Both teams have accumulated eight points each, with CSK having a net run rate of 0.529 and LSG at 0.123.
KL Rahul was awarded as the player of the match said during the post-match presentation, “Feels good at the end of the day, When you win, looks like you make all the decisions right.”
“Impossible to get all right. Depends on the kind of wicket we are playing on and the kind of batters there are. We spend time doing homework on tactics and strategy and we spoke about them not settling against one style of bowling.”
After the match, Rahul said, “Halfway stage, I would have been happy with 160. The wicket was slow and a bit of grip. MSD walked in and the pressure got to the bowlers. He has had the intimidation on opposition bowlers. Our young bowlers were put under pressure with the crowd going berserk as well. 15-20 runs extra they got.”
