Chennai Super Kings captain Ruturaj Gaikwad said they had the game in control till the 13-14 over but Marcus Stoinis took the game away after their six-wicket loss at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on Tuesday.
CSK posted a par score of 210 runs on the board after Gaikwad scored a fine knock of 108 runs off just 60 balls, becoming the first CSK captain to score an IPL century.
Shivam Dube continued his rich form, scoring a blistering knock of 66 runs off just 27 balls. The pair added 104 runs off just 49 balls for the fourth wicket.
On the other hand, Lucknow Super Giant had their backs against the wall in the run-chase as they needed 87 runs in the last six overs to get over the line.
However, a well-settled Marcus Stoinis delivered for his team, scoring an unbeaten knock of 124 off just 63 balls, which is his maiden IPL century. Stoinis was the lone warrior for LSG as he scored more than 50% runs in the run-chase.
17 runs were needed off the last over and the Australian was able to put Mustafizur Rahman under pressure as he smashed him for a six on the first ball.
Ruturaj Gaikwad said after the game, “Tough pill to swallow, but good game of cricket. LSG played really well in the back end. We had the game in control till 13-14 overs, but Stoinis played a great innings.”
On bowling in tough conditions of dew, the CSK added, “It played a part, there was a huge amount of dew and it took our spinners out of the game. We could have otherwise controlled the game better and taken it deeper. But these are parts of the game, can’t control it. Jaddu is batting at number 4 since we lost the second wicket within the powerplay.”
Gaikwad revealed that the plan is to send Shivam Dube if they loss a wicket, following the Powerplay. Dube has been relentless against the opposition’s spinners in the middle overs.
He concluded, “Our thinking is clear that after the powerplay if there is a wicket, Shivam will come out to bat. We can’t force batters to get out after. To be honest, I thought our target wasn’t enough, it was just about par because of the dew we’ve seen during our practice sessions. But credit to the way LSG batted.”
Chennai Super Kings will next take on Sunrisers Hyderabad at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on Sunday.
