By – Aditi Gupta
Dhoni provides the CSK innings a late boost, but Rahul and De Kock’s century-plus opening partnership makes short work of the chase.
Massive measures immediately
After a late rise, the Chennai Super Kings had a strong lead at the approximately stage. On a two-paced pitch, a goal of 177 would be difficult to achieve if Lucknow followed to their strategy of saving wickets and loosening up at the finish. On such areas, hitting big hits off the older ball is always risky, especially given the Ekana stadium’s massive outfield.
So KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock created a new template. Lucknow’s knocks excel at home by taking risks. Lucknow’s openers, having no idea of how the surface would behave, started putting pressure on Chennai’s team. Deepak Chahar still suffering, Rahul wasted no time in chasing him. A straight six off a long delivery lied to his intentions. Rahul was not going to be satisfied with a strike rate in the 120s tonight. So De Kock fired his drives and whips as he continued at his usual speed. With three sixes and five boundaries in the Powerplay, Lucknow had 54 runs on the board.
A pleasant journey
Lucknow didn’t need to do anything remarkable after an impressive start in a season where even totals above 200 haven’t been safe. However, it wasn’t the case that Rahul became solitary. Being Chennai’s best player, Matheesha Pathirana right away placed him under strain and put him down for a six. The bowler, already frustrated after Pathirana had dropped De Kock in his initial over, came face-to-face with Ravindra Jadeja’s distinctive cuts in his third over.
After 10 overs, the score had been 89/0, which meant Lucknow was now running in their race. They restarted their rapid game after two quiet overs, with Rahul and De Kock gradually closing the door and leaving. At that point, the only thing left to wonder was when Lucknow would arrive and increase their run rate.
However, they never showed any urgency even though they had wickets in hand as they hit Chennai’s score with just one over standing.
The on and off field surprises
Chennai isn’t a team that changes around its players unless it’s strictly necessary. However, this season has been quite unusual as they have changed the starting lineup more aggressively. It was a huge surprise when Daryl Mitchell was benched and replaced by Moeen Ali for a team who is known for extending long ropes to resources they firmly believe in.
After Rahane, Shivam Dube, and Impact Player Sameer Rizvi were dismissed from the Chennai team, Jadeja and Moeen returned to their area of excellence. Continue to add points without taking any chances. Chennai went 34 deliveries without a boundary as a result, but because half the team were already in the hut, their main priority was to hold wickets in order to mount a late push.