Match 45 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 edition saw the Krunal Pandya-led Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) host the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). It was a face-off between third-ranked Lucknow and fourth-positioned Chennai at a crucial juncture of the league stage, with as many as five teams — ranging from second to sixth spots — tied at ten points each. Rain played spoilsport as both teams shared a point each at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow on Wednesday (May 03).
At the coin toss, MS Dhoni called it right as CSK opted to bat first. During the toss, Danny Morrison asked Dhoni about his IPL future in a cheeky manner. The former cricketer-turned-commentator Morrison asked, “This wonderful swansong tour, your last, how are you enjoying it?” To this, the former Indian captain replied, “Well you have decided it’s my last”. Dhoni’s response went viral in no time and was met with a thunderous response at the venue.
LSG, who came into this match on the back of a defeat versus Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by 18 runs at home on Monday (May 01), were off to a poor start. Deepak Chahar returned to the playing XI for CSK but couldn’t take an early breakthrough. Maheesh Theekshana and Moeen Ali shared two wickets each whereas Ravindra Jadeja applied the brakes as Lucknow found it tough to score freely on a tricky surface (also witnessed in the LSG-RCB high-voltage clash).
The home side were tottering at 62/5 after 14 overs but doubled the score courtesy of Ayush Badoni’s 33-ball 59 not out. LSG were 125/7 in 19.2 overs when rain made its presence felt. After a long wait, there was no play possible with both sides sharing a point each. Here’s the updated points table after LSG-CSK tie:
In the overall standings, both LSG and CSK have gone up by one spot. Lucknow remain above CSK with a Net Run Rate (NRR) of +0.639. Meanwhile, CSK have an NRR of +0/329. The Yellow Army will now host Mumbai Indians (MI), in Chennai, on May 06 whereas Lucknow will lock horns with defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT) on May 07 in Ahmedabad.
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