Chennai Super Kings captain Ravindra Jadeja rued the fact that they dropped two catches against Lucknow Super Giants in the seventh match of the Indian Premier League 2022 at Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai on Thursday after losing by six wickets.
CSK posted a par score of 210 runs after KL Rahul won the toss and decided to bat first but LSG was able to chase down the fourth-highest total in IPL history.
CSK scored 73 runs in the powerplay overs as Robin Uthappa and Moeen Ali took the attack to the opposition. Uthappa completed his fifty off just 25 balls while Shivam Dube played a quickfire knock of 49 runs off 30 balls.
On the other hand, Lucknow Super Giants got off to a sublime start as Quinton de Kock and KL Rahul added 99 runs for the opening stand. However, it could have been a different story altogether had CSK caught their catches.
Quinton de Kock was dropped by Moeen Ali when the left-hander was on 30 and he went on to double his score (61). Furthermore, KL Rahul was also given a reprieve but his drop catch didn’t cost the team many runs.
Subsequently, Evin Lewis and Ayush Badoni added the finishing touches for LSG to help the team get their maiden win in the IPL. Lewis scored 55 runs off 23 balls whereas Ayush Badoni continued to impress as he scored a little cameo of 9-ball 19.
The penultimate over the run-chase which was bowled by part-timer Shivam Dube, was the turning point of the game as it went for 25 runs.
Jadeja feels his team needs to practice fielding with the wet ball as it was not easy for them in the second innings.
Ravindra Jadeja said in the post-match presentation, “We had a very good start, Robbie and Shivam Dube were playing brilliantly. We had a good start, but in the fielding, we have to take catches then you’ll win matches. We should have taken those chances. There was a lot of dew, the ball wasn’t sticking to the hand. Next time, we have to practice with the wet ball. We batted brilliantly in the top-six and in the middle-overs. The wicket was very good to bat on. As a bowling unit, we need to execute our plans.”
This is the first time in the IPL history when Chennai Super Kings have lost their opening two matches of the season. Chennai Super Kings will next face Punjab Kings at the Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai on Sunday.
