The Lucknow Super Giants registered their maiden victory against defending champions Chennai Super Kings on Thursday at Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. While chasing 210, Lucknow had a terrific start as the openers added 99-runs for the first wicket, and later middle-order batters finished the game for their side in style.
Skipper KL Rahul (40 off 26) and experienced wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock (61 off 45) provided a solid start to their chase before Rahul got dismissed off debutant Dwaine Pretorius in the 11th over of the game. Later, Evin Lewis (55 off 23), Deepak Hooda (13 off 8), and wonder-kid Ayush Badoni (19 off 9) geared the innings to past the winning margin in just 19.3 overs.
After playing a close contest against Gujarat Giants, Lucknow's brilliant chase to outplay Chennai Super Kings speaks volumes of talent and self-belief in the dressing room. To celebrate their maiden victory, all the players and the coaching staff got together post-match and were seen singing Sweet Caroline.
The song written and sung by legendary Neil Diamon was regarded as the anthem of the England team at Euro Cup 2020. Speaking of the match, Chennai Super Kings displayed brilliant piece of batting in the first innings of the game as Robina Uthappa (50 off 27), Moeen Ali (35 off 22), Ambati Rayudu (27 off 20), Ravindra Jadeja (16 off 6) and MS Dhoni (16 off 6) played blistering knocks for their side.
For Lucknow, Avesh Khan, Andrew Tye, and Ravi Bishnoi clinched two wickets each in the first innings but conceded too many runs, due to which CSK was able to post such a huge target. Bishnoi had the best economy from his side as he conceded just 24 runs in four overs, at an impressive economy of 6.
Talking of their next assignment, CSK will take on Punjab Kings on April 3 at Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai, while Lucknow Super Giants will lock horns with Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 4 at DY Patil Stadium.
