The ageless MS Dhoni came to Chennai Super Kings’ rescue in a tense situation and finished with 26 not out from 11 deliveries to get his team over the line against hosts Lucknow Super Giants. Chasing a target of 167, CSK had slipped to 111/5 after 15 overs, and their usually belligerent spin-hitter Shivam Dube was pottering around with a strike-rater under 100.
Dhoni, ever the man for the occasion, signaled his intent with a couple boundaries to liven Dube, who suddenly began to time the ball and finished 43 not out from 37 balls, in a partnership worth 57 that got CSK across the line with three deliveries remaining.
They remain at the bottom of the table, but this victory snapped a five-match losing streak. Lucknow, coming off a three-match winning streak, are at fourth place.
It was a familiar story for CSK’s batting. Rachin Ravindra made 37 but did not convert, instead out lbw to Aiden Markram’s part-time offspin. Shaik Rasheed made 26 before he was out, and the successive failures of Rahul Tripathi and Ravindra Jadeja, who both made 9, left CSK with plenty to do.
Vijay Shankar succumbed to dot ball pressure from Digvesh Rathi, and when Dhoni walked out at the start of the 16th over the asking was 56 from five overs. Dube, at the time, was batting on 17 from 20 balls.
Dhoni, 43, took back to back fours off Avesh Khan and then struck Shardul Thakur for six to end the 17th over. This sparked life into Dube who hit Thakur for four and six in successive deliveries, and then finished the chase by perforating the gap at cover for another boundary.
Chennai did well to keep LSG to 166/7 on a tricky surface, with only Rishabh Pant hanging around to get 63 off 49 balls, his first fifty of the season. A terrific running catch from Tripathi ended Markram’s brief stay in the first over and provided Khaleel Ahmed and CSK a quick breakthrough.
Mitchell Marsh slotted back into LSG’s 11 after missing the previous game to be with his ill 19-week-old daughter Olive and showed intent from the start. However, due to the tacky nature of the Lucknow pitch and some smart bowling, Marsh was limited to 30 off 25 balls. He was bowled to become the first of Jadeja’s two wickets, but oddly the spinner was not bowled for his fourth over by Dhoni.
From one end, Jadeja’s spin partner Noor Ahmad kept a lid on runs with an exceptional four-over spell that cost a mere 13 runs. Ayush Badoni lived a charmed life to get 22 off 17 balls and Abdul Samad made 20 from 11, but LSG’s 166/7 was their lowest total of the season.
