It was a great clash between two big teams who were looking to open their account.
CSK had faced defeat at the hands of KKR in their opening encounter. While Lucknow, the debutant, had faced a defeat at the hands of their counterpart Gujarat giant.
Hence both of them came into the game looking for a win. In a league like IPL, you can’t afford to fall too far behind. It can come back to haunt you towards the end of the league stage.
The toss once again didn’t go in Jadeja’s favour. Having won the toss, Rahul decided to bowl first.
The idea behind the same must have been influenced by the recent record of the tournament. Apart from the match between Hyderabad and Rajasthan, every match was won by the team chasing.
Also, CSK’s last outing must have been at the back of the hand of KL Rahul. The defending champions could barely score a defendable total in their previous outing. Hence the decision to bowl first was easy.
Only it didn’t turn out to be the right one.
Chennai’s great start with the bat
The Super Kings, with a slight change in their batting lineup, came out guns blazing. Robin Uthappa, opened in place of Devon Conway and played a masterful inning.
Having lost Gaikwad earlier on in the inning, CSK’s run rate didn’t take a dip. Instead, it only got better with time.
Inspired by a great fifty by Uthappa in just 25 balls, CSK made 73 in their powerplay overs.
Although Uthappa couldn’t last long after his fifty, it was Moeen Ali and Shivan Dubey who provided their team with a move on.
The left-hander from England, having missed the first game, scored a handy 35. But it was Dubey who gave CSK the real move on the middle overs.
His 50-run partnership with Ambati Rayudu made a great difference for his team. It was sad to see that he couldn’t complete his fifty as he was dismissed at 49.
Later it was MS Dhoni and Jadeja who applied the finishing touches to take their side past the 200 run mark.
At the innings break, CSK had 210 runs on the board, and the match was far from over.
Everyone had seen how easy it was to bat on the wicket. And considering Lucknow’s batting prowess, they were more than the favourite to win the game.
Lucknow fights back
Rahul and his men definitely started off in the right style. Scoring in a quick-fire manner, they managed to add 90 runs in the first ten overs themselves.
It was de Kock who was the aggressor of the two openers for Lucknow. Rahul also made a great contribution of 40 off just 26 balls.
De Kock, however, went on to play his own game while wickets fell from the other end. He brought up his fifty in just 34 balls to dent CSK’s hope to win the game.
Later after his departure, it was Elwin Lewin who took the baton to finish the chase. He dropped anchor on one end while de Kock went on to play the score. After him, it was Deepak Hooda, who scored 13 off 8.
Lewis did his part in the 19th over as he smashed 14 runs off Dube’s over to tilt the tie in his team’s favour.
In the final over, it was Ayush Badoni yet again who applied the final touches to win the game for his team. In the end, Lucknow cruised home with three balls to spare.
This is the worst start to CSK’s campaign. They have never lost two back to back games in the start of an IPL campaign.
