It was as if, after many tugs at its starter cord, a motor had finally roared into unstoppable life, the way Chennai Super Kings put up a solid performance across departments to beat Lucknow Super Giants by five wickets in the ongoing IPL 2025 at the Ekana stadium here on Monday.
CSK had seemed a spent campfire coming into the match. Its fans had begun exhibiting signs of a hard life. So, when Rahul Tripathi took a brilliant running catch to dismiss LSG opener Aiden Markram (6) off Khaleel Ahmed, it seemed he had clutched at a lifeline rather. It was as if CSK had shaken itself awake. The players were astir. The supporters, who’d filled the stands, were bucked up.
RELATED | LSG VS CSK MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
CSK followed it up with Nicholas Pooran’s early dismissal (8). Dhoni, the captain, played a hand in it. After a six and a four in the fourth over, he’d packed the off-side with six fielders for Pooran to try and play the ball on the leg side and miss it. Anshul Kamboj got him, lbw, on review.
Chennai Super Kings’ Mahendra Singh Dhoni drives Avesh Khan of Lucknow Super Giants during IPL match at Ekana stadium, in Lucknow.
| Photo Credit:
SANDEEP SAXENA/ THE HINDU
Chennai Super Kings’ Mahendra Singh Dhoni drives Avesh Khan of Lucknow Super Giants during IPL match at Ekana stadium, in Lucknow.
| Photo Credit:
SANDEEP SAXENA/ THE HINDU
Opener Mitchell Marsh (30), threatening to get out of hand with two fours and two sixes, pulled and missed a ball that wasn’t short enough and skidded in to be bowled off Ravindra Jadeja. Captain Rishabh Pant’s 49-ball 63 (4×4, 4×6) helped LSG to a competitive total.
RELATED | LSG VS CSK SCORECARD
With the bat, when its openers Shaik Rasheed (27) and Rachin Ravindra (37) racked up 52 off 29 balls, it seemed as if CSK had its scheme of life worked out to a fine point. But soon it imploded to a point where Shivam Dube (43 n.o.) and Dhoni (26 n.o.) were faced with an equation of 56 off 30 balls.
Dhoni, who edged a couple of lucky fours, hit a one-handed six off Shardul Thakur to the square leg boundary. Dube muscled a full toss off a no-ball over third man for a six off Shardul too. Dhoni was dropped by Bishnoi at cover off Shardul on 20 when CSK required 12 off 10. He hit a full toss for a four to deep midwicket in the last ball of that over to reduce target to five off the last over which was eventually breached, helping end a five-match losing streak.