After a graceful century from Ruturaj Gaikwad and a 66 from Shivam Dube, Marcus Stoinis’ match-winning 124 silences Chepauk and takes CSK to 210/4.
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Marcus Stoinis begins to speak.
At the MA Chidambaram Stadium, there was a thunderous cheer of victory in the midst of an absolute quiet. In a thrilling game, Marcus Stoinis had hit Mustafizur Rahman for a boundary off the third ball of the last over, helping the Lucknow Super Giants pull off a thrilling victory.
By the midway point of the pursuit, CSK was clearly in the lead. LSG needed 112 runs in the final 10 overs at 98/3. The home team was equipped with multiple weapons. Mustafizur had three more overs and CSK’s quick bowler Matheesha Pathirana had completed his four over allotment. Seven excellent death overs, that’s what. LSG had to score 11.2 runs per over.
The CSK supporters cheered when Pathirana removed Devdutt Padikkal’s leg stump off the last ball of the eleventh. It was the turning point for Lucknow in their pursuit strategy. Padikkal had made 13 out of 19 deliveries, thus he was nowhere. The momentum changed the minute Nicholas Pooran joined Marcus Stoinis. Chennai’s situation was not helped by the 69 runs that Shardul Thakur, Tushar Deshpande, Pathirana, and Mustafizur leaked between 12 and 16 overs.
Following the second time-out, Pathirana was able to get Pooran in the opening over. It appeared as though the dismissal would tip the match in favour of CSK. But Stoinis accepted the challenge without hesitation after that.
Despite the presence of Deepak Hooda, who had a brief appearance, the Australian produced his first IPL century, allowing Lucknow to complete a double against both Pathirana and Mustafizur.Ruturaj Gaikwad’s and Marcus Stoinis’ knocks were nearly identical for the majority of the innings. With the 56th ball, they both reached their centuries. However, compared to Gaikwad’s 12 fours and 3 sixes, Marcus Stonis had more boundaries (19), with 13 fours and 6 sixes. With a strike rate of 196.82, Marcus Stoinis outperformed Gaikwad’s 180.
Dube’s lightning
During a season when Chennai’s international batters are having difficulty establishing themselves, their Indian signings have been the center of attention. On Tuesday, Gaikwad and Shivam Dube demonstrated India’s batting prowess in a similar manner.
With each subsequent over, Dube is demonstrating why his name ought to rank among the top three on India’s T20 World Cup roster; his 27-ball 66 was every bit as significant as Gaikwad’s flawless 108 of 60. And to some degree, Gaikwad’s hundred would have been insufficient in the absence of Dube’s supporting innings.
Jadeja’s difficulties
Chennai only scored 85 off the opening 10 overs, despite having demonstrated offensive intent at both ends thus far this season. And a big part of it was because Ravindra Jadeja was promoted to No. 4 instead of Dube. Jadeja’s shortcomings as a T20 batter were evident once again in this innings. When he batted in the last powerplay over, he played four consecutive dot deliveries before getting off to a good start by taking a single off a full toss.
He hit two boundaries and scored just sixteen in his 19 balls. Gaikwad was striking at 181.57 on a delivery before he was removed, while Jadeja departed at 94.44.And Jadeja’s firing was the catalyst that turned things around for Chennai. With just 85 runs scored in the opening 10 overs, Dube’s presence would signal the intention on both sides.
After hitting two singles in the first over, the tall left-hander went on to knock the first six of Chennai’s innings off the fourth pitch he faced in the 13th over. And that let the water pour in.
Even Gaikwad, the self-restraint man, was starting to release his arms. Only two boundaries and a six were struck in the 14th and 15th overs, then Dube smashed three consecutive sixes against Yash Thakur in the 16th. After that, Lucknow’s situation deteriorated dramatically. They only scored 8 runs in the 17th, but Yash’s 18th delivery went for 16. After giving up 17 runs in the next over, Mohsin Khan faced the final ball and hit a boundary, helping Chennai score 15 runs in the last over.
If Gaikwad managed to keep Chennai’s innings together, Dube was the one who drove them to 210. Even though he didn’t have to bat against any spinners, his strike-rate of 244.44 was exactly what Chennai needed. Until the home team was startled by LSG and Marcus Stoinis.
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