The 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) witnessed its first washout with the afternoon fixture of the Wednesday double-header between Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) getting abandoned due to rain.
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Until the heavens opened up for a second time in the day in Lucknow, the match shaping to be another competitive game on a tough Ekana wicket. After a series of high-scoring thrillers on batting-friendly surfaces, the 16th edition of the IPL has suddenly taken a turn towards closely-fought low-scoring affairs, which could have been the case in the LSG-CSK clash.
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IPL 2023: LSG fight back against CSK before rain plays spoilsport
Lucknow, who were led by Krunal Pandya with the injured KL Rahul ruled out for the remainder of the season once again found themselves in a spot of bother after being invited to bat by Chennai skipper MS Dhoni.
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LSG, after all, had been bowled out for 108 after being set 127 to win by the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in a low-scoring thriller on Monday that has since gained attention for the wrong reasons. And just two days later, Lucknow were reduced to 44/5 in the 10th over with the Chennai spinners wreaking havoc on the Ekana surface that is the closest thing to a minefield in the IPL.
Moeen Ali began the procession by completing a season double against Kyle Mayers, who ended up getting caught by Ruturaj Gaikwad near long off off a miscue. The procession would then continue with Maheesh Theekshana striking twice in as many deliveries in the final over of the powerplay, castling veteran opener Manan Vohra — Rahul’s replacement in the lineup — for 10 before getting skipper Krunal caught at slip with Ajinkya Rahane collecting a fine low catch.
Ravindra Jadeja then foxed Marcus Stoinis with one of the standout deliveries of the season that ended up rattling the off stump after pitching along leg — something the left-arm spinner is used to doing on Day 4 and 5 surfaces on rank turners in home Tests. Karan Sharma would then perish in the 10th over, with Moeen pulling off an excellent reflex catch off his own bowling, as Lucknow were reduced to 44/5.
In a batting unit brimming with talent such as Lucknow’s however, all it takes is for one individual to stand up and deliver. It was only a few days back that the LSG batting unit had fired collectively as a unit and ended up posting 257 on the board against Punjab Kings, the second-highest total in IPL history.
On a day when his senior teammates found themselves back in the dugout for low scores with Nicholas Pooran too struggling to collect runs in the middle, it was up to Ayush Badoni to produce a rescue act that ensured Lucknow not only went past 100, but got close to 130 — a score that has proved competitive in recent games.
Except Badoni, who walked out to bat after Sharma’s dismissal, was also struggling initially, batting on 9 off 14 as LSG reached 62/5 at the end of 14. The 23-year-old then gained some confidence with a slog-sweep over cow corner off Theekshana. He would target the Sri Lankan offie in his next over, smashing him for a six and a four inside three deliveries to signal a shift in moment. From thereon, it was a Badoni show as Pooran, who clearly wasn’t in his element today, happy to play second fiddle until getting dismissed for a 31-ball 20.
Badoni was particularly harsh on seasoned seamer Deepak Chahar, who replaced Akash Singh in what was Chennai’s only change for this game, for two mighty sixes and a four in a 20-run penultimate over, bringing up his first half-century of the season along the way.
The Delhiite was batting on 59 off 33 two balls into the final over when the rain gods, who had caused the toss to take place 30 minutes after the scheduled time, pay another visit and this time spoil the proceedings for good.
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There was some gain for both Lucknow and Chennai though, as they moved up a spot each to second and third respectively on the points table after sharing points, with Rajasthan Royals dropping to fourth.
While Chennai would’ve been pleased with the manner in which their spinners maintained a stranglehold on the opposition batters in the middle overs, the Lucknow team management would no doubt be pleased with the manner in which Badoni shouldered responsibility on Wednesday.
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