In their first home game of the Indian T20 League season, 16 Chennai faced Lucknow in Chepauk on Monday. The four times champions beat Lucknow by 12 runs to make a comeback in the tournament. Batter Ruturaj Gaikwad and Moeen Ali shined in Chennai’s victory. Notably, this is Chennai’s first victory of the season as they were defeated by defending champions Gujarat in the season opener.
Earlier, after winning the toss, Lucknow skipper KL Rahul opted to bowl first. Put in to bat first, Chennai got a flying start as openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Convey added 110 runs in just nine overs. Ruturaj, in his innings, scored his second consecutive half-century as he hammered 57 runs off 31 balls with the help of four sixes and three boundaries. On the other hand, Convay, in his innings, scored 47 runs off 29 balls with the help of two sixes and five boundaries.
In the end, Ambati Raydu and Shivam Dube played an electrifying knock of 27 runs each to take Chennai over 200. In the last over, Chennai skipper MS Dhoni hammered two sixes and helped his team to post the highest total of this season. Chennai posted a mammoth total of 217/7 in 20 overs. For Lucknow pacer, Mark Wood and Ravi Bishnoi shined with the ball as they clinched three wickets each. Bishnoi also proved to be economical as he bowled with an economy rate of just 7.
Moeen Ali derailed Lucknow’s run chase
Chasing 218 runs looked very easy for Lucknow when Kyle Mayers was hammering Chennai bowlers. He, along with KL Rahul, added 79 runs for the opening wicket in just 5.3 overs. Mayers, in his innings, scored 53 runs off 22 balls with the help of two sixes and eight boundaries. In the last over of the Powerplay, Moeen Ali dismissed him and gave Chennai their much-needed breakthrough.
After Mayers’ departure, Lucknow never looked into the game. Allrounder Marcus Stoinis and Nicholas Pooran tried to rescue Lucknow but eventually failed to pull the game. Stoinis scored 21 runs off 18 balls, while Pooran added 32 runs off 18 balls before getting dismissed by Tushar Deshpande. Moeen Ali clinched four wickets in his spell and was awarded player of the match.
Meanwhile, fans react to Chennai’s commanding performance. A Twitter user said, “Thala win us, welcome to Abuden.”
Here are some Tweets:
Seeing Dhoni's SIX 😭❤️#CSKvsLSG pic.twitter.com/Koug7hIPUl
— Prayag (@theprayagtiwari) April 3, 2023
CSK won by 12 runs.. in the end Dhoni’s massive sixes mattered. #CSKvsLSG pic.twitter.com/g86iURHR8B
— Anurag Dwivedi 🏏 (@AnuragxCricket) April 3, 2023
Pic Of The Day Gowtham Gambhir 😂🔥 #MSDhoni𓃵 #Ipl2023 #CSKvsLSG pic.twitter.com/abbghRp813
— Roвιɴ Roвerт (@PeaceBrwVJ) April 3, 2023
1.3 cr concurrent views on Jio Cinema right now. #CSKvsLSG pic.twitter.com/zM3Wx2S2aZ
— Sagar (@sagarcasm) April 3, 2023
LSG dressing room in innings break. #CSKvsLSG pic.twitter.com/2t1eG9jYE3
— Rajabets India🇮🇳👑 (@smileandraja) April 3, 2023
Chepauk pitch curator be like.. 🥹 #CSKvsLSG pic.twitter.com/Vt7lib2hbb
— Anurag Dwivedi 🏏 (@AnuragxCricket) April 3, 2023
CSK beat LSG by 12 runs
— Sridh@r@n MSD 👑💚💛 (@R3Rdhr) April 3, 2023
SWEET REVENGE 💛💛💛💛🔥💥👍#CSKvsLSG #WhistlePodu #Chepaukstadium #ChennaiSuperKings pic.twitter.com/Zsp5HseyMi
Thala using Tushar Deshpande as death bowler
— Arima🦁 (@Ilamchetchenni) April 3, 2023
No guts no glory🫡✨#CSKvsLSG #Dhoni #Tushardeshpande #WhistlePodu pic.twitter.com/VELXfMAK38
Finally first win for csk 💛
— MATHU VADALARA (@mathuvadalara1) April 3, 2023
Batting 👌🏻 but bowling ey improve kavali #CSKvsLSG #RuturajGaikwad #MoeenAli #csk #LSGvCSK pic.twitter.com/SmgULMVaFi