It was Lucknow Super Giants’ first win in the Indian Premier League in 2022, as they defeated Chennai Super Kings by six wickets.
Lucknow Super Giants beat Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League on Thursday thanks in large part to Evin Lewis, who takes inspiration from Chris Gayle. When LSG was in a hopeless position, Lewis burst into an unbeaten 23-ball 55 as the team came from 211 for three to win. Despite a strong start from openers KL Rahul (44) and Quinton de Kock (61), LSG found themselves unable to keep up with the escalating pace of the game.
A nine-ball 19 from Ayush Badoni made it look like an easy task for Lewis and the rest of the excellent team.
Lewis and Badoni hammered Shivam Dube for 25 runs in the penultimate over to reduce the deficit to nine runs from the final six balls, changing the course of the match in the blink of an eye.
In the end, it was a no-brainer that Dube would have the opportunity to bowl the 19th over.
Lewis smashed nine fours and three sixes as LSG became the first team to win a game in the lucrative competition for the first time. In the end, Badoni’s two maximums proved to be vital in the outcome of the match.
Earlier, Ravi Bishnoi (2/24) bowled brilliantly with the wet ball in challenging conditions, while Robin Uthappa turned back the hands of time with a beautiful yet merciless assault to take CSK to an impressive score.
Rahul and de Kock smashed the CSK bowlers to smithereens, setting the tone for the rest of the match.
At one point in the game, the duo appeared to be on the verge of completing the game in a matter of minutes, dealing entirely in fours and sixes.
Rahul’s dismissal by Dwaine Pretorius (2/31) and Manish Pandey’s dismissal by Dwayne Bravo (1/35) put the reigning champions back in the game.
As CSK’s fielding improved, Pretorius struck again, this time taking out fellow countryman de Kock.
Lewis then teamed up with Badoni to complete the task on behalf of LSG.
Badoni hammered a six in the last over to tie the score and then helped his team win the game with the help of Mukesh Choudhary’s two wides.
Before Dube’s 49 off 30 deliveries, Robin Uthappa had hit a fluent 50 off 27 balls to give CSK a great start. Ravindra Jadeja (17 off 9) and MS Dhoni (16 off 6) gave the last flourish with two fours and a six.
In the first two balls of the innings, Uthappa looked like a man on a mission as he smashed Avesh Khan (2/38) for back-to-back boundaries.
He hammered it all over the park as the ball landed perfectly on his bat.
Ruturaj Gaikwad, who was well short of the crease, was dismissed by Bishnoi from the backward point in the third over.
Despite this, Uthappa and newcomer Moeen Ali (35), kept up the pressure by playing only fours and sixes in their blitzkrieg.
At the end of the Powerplay, CSK was 73 runs ahead of the Super Giants thanks to the duo’s performance.
During his 22-ball stint, Uthappa smashed eight fours and a six, while Moeen struck two fours and a six.
As soon as Uthappa had scored his half-century, Bishnoi delivered a fast delivery and caught his leg before the wicket.
After Uthappa’s departure, Dube started up where he left off, smashing three boundaries off Dushmantha Chameera (0/49). His day was ruined by his several miscues with the ball, which led to easy runs for the visitors.
After getting little from the wicket, LSG’s bowlers were struggling, and careless fielding made matters worse.
A 60-run partnership between Dube and Ambati Rayudu (27), then, kept CSK on track for a large total.
