After a late surge, Chennai Super Kings had a significant advantage at the midway point. If Lucknow adhered to their formula of saving wickets and freed up late in the game, a target of 177 was not going to be easy to reach on a two-paced pitch. Playing hard hits off the older ball is always risky on such fields, especially when one considers the spacious outfield at Ekana Stadium.
Thus, Quinton de Kock and KL Rahul developed an alternative template. Lucknow’s batsmen have a propensity of taking calculated risks to get the job done when playing at home. Knowing exactly how this pitch would behave, Lucknow’s openers set about immediately applying pressure on Chennai’s offensive. Rahul wasted no time in pursuing Deepak Chahar, who was still having difficulty. His intent was evident when he delivered a solid length delivery with a clean six. Rahul was not going to settle for a strike rate in the 120s on this particular night. Thus, De Kock proceeded at his customary speed, letting go of those drives and whips. With five boundaries and three sixes in the Powerplay, Lucknow amassed 54 runs and controlled the asking rate.
What happened next demonstrated that Lucknow, a squad accustomed to easily protecting totals at Ekana Stadium, could also handle the chase.
A comfortable journey
Lucknow didn’t need to do anything spectacular following a great start in a season where even totals above 200 haven’t been secure. However, it did not mean that Rahul became reclusive. Being Chennai’s best player, Matheesha Pathirana immediately put him under strain and took him down for a six. The bowler, already dejected after Pathirana had dropped De Kock in his previous over, was confronted with Ravindra Jadeja’s characteristic cuts in his third over.
After 10 overs, the score was 89/0, which meant Lucknow was now jogging in their chase. They resumed their fast-paced 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 displayed any urgency even though they had wickets in hand as they reached Chennai’s score with just one over remaining.
Both on and off the pitch surprises
Chennai isn’t a team that switches around its players unless it’s absolutely necessary. However, this season has been extremely unusual in that 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 that is known for giving long ropes to resources they firmly believe in.
There was more transformation to come. They kept Ajinkya Rahane at the top of the batting order. However, Jadeja entered the picture after they lost Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rachin Ravindra inside the Powerplay. The coaching team in Chennai has been discussing the importance of mobility in the middle order, where all players must feel at ease in any position. However, one had to pay attention to how Jadeja handled spinners given that he entered the game at 4, at the end of the Powerplay. Jadeja’s limitations as a T20 batter have made it simple for spinners to contain him.
However, Jadeja managed to overcome that shortcoming for once. When bowling against Jadeja in Twenty20s, he had a strike rate of 97.02 against leg-spinners. Ravi Bishnoi almost had him off the second ball he delivered. However, even if he reduced the danger after that, the left-hander was still able to locate the boundaries of Bishnoi and Krunal Pandya.
After Rahane, Shivam Dube, and Impact Player Sameer Rizvi were removed from the Chennai team, Jadeja and Moeen returned to their area of expertise. Continue to add points without taking any chances. Chennai went 34 deliveries without a boundary as a result, but because half the team was already in the hut, their main priority was to hold wickets in order to mount a late charge.
The last details
Chennai needed boundaries to stay in the game midway through, having scored runs at a pace of 7.06 into the death overs. Jadeja reached his fifty when Deepak Hooda flicked an offering over the boundary rope for a six in the 15th over, their first four since the 10th over. It indicated a shift in momentum. Additionally, Moeen flat-batted one more over of long off after slog-sweeping two sixes off Ravi Bishnoi in the following over. With three straight sixes, Chennai was guaranteed a thrilling conclusion.
And it came from none other than MS Dhoni. Dhoni walked in as Moeen left to try to hit Bishnoi for a fourth straight six. After stepping over the stumps and directing the ball over the wicketkeeper’s head for a six, he struck Mohsin Khan for a boundary through the covers. For the first time that evening, Lucknow found themselves under duress. Due to a sluggish over rate, only four fielders were permitted in the last over. Nevertheless, Dhoni struck two boundaries and a six against Yash Thakur, helping Chennai score 63 runs off the final four overs.
