Match Center

Right then, that is all from this entertaining affair where Lucknow came out on top. They would have loved to finish the game much earlier, which would have helped them sneak into the top four on the points table, but they stay fifth for now. Next up on Saturday, the 20th of April, the 2024 Indian T20 League heads to the capital city of Delhi for the first time. Rishabh Pant's Delhi will lock horns with Pat Cummins-led Hyderabad at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. The game will commence at 7.30 pm IST (2 pm GMT), but as always, our build-up will begin much sooner. See you then. Cheers!

The captain of Lucknow, KL Rahul, is the PLAYER OF THE MATCH. Not only did he contribute with the bat, but he also contributed from behind the wickets with a stumping and a couple of catches. He expresses satisfaction with his team's performance, emphasizing the importance of making correct decisions. He credits the team for committing to their plans and executing them effectively, resulting in a successful outcome. Rahul discusses his strategy in deploying bowlers, highlighting the consideration of pitch conditions and opposition batters. He mentions the team's preparation through homework and tactical discussions, emphasizing the strategy to vary the bowling attack to unsettle the opposition. The captain commends the bowlers for their execution and attributes their success to the hard work put in during training sessions. He concludes by expressing delight in seeing the team adhere to the plans, indicating a cohesive and disciplined approach.

Time for the presentation ceremony...

Marcus Stoinis of Lucknow reflects on their crucial victory, emphasizing its significance for the team. Despite facing Chennai again in two days, Stoinis expresses happiness over securing the win, crediting the team's overall performance. Regarding their bowling effort, Stoinis feels they could have restricted the opposition further, but acknowledges Chennai's strong finish, especially MS Dhoni's contribution. However, he highlights their batting prowess, praising KL Rahul and Nicholas Pooran for their significant contributions.

Ruturaj Gaikwad, the captain of Chennai, reflects on the team's performance, acknowledging the strong finish but expressing a desire for more. Despite the promising start, Gaikwad feels that Chennai couldn't capitalize on the momentum after the powerplay, losing wickets at regular intervals. He believes they are about 10-15 runs short of what could have been an optimal total. Gaikwad acknowledges the challenge posed by the impact player rule, emphasizing the importance of additional runs in such situations. He notes that while the pitch initially felt sluggish, the conditions improved with the onset of dew, suggesting that a score of 180-190 could have been more competitive.

Earlier in the game, after being asked to bat first by KL Rahul, Chennai were dealt an early blow in the form of Rachin Ravindra. They faced another setback as Yash Thakur got into the act to remove the Chennai skipper. Ajinkya Rahane and Ravindra Jadeja batted at a decent pace and ensured that there were no more casualties in the Powerplay. Rahane perished in trying to break free, and neither Shivam Dube nor the Impact Player, Sameer Rizvi, had a significant impact. Despite wickets falling around him, Jadeja held the innings together on a tricky surface that was on the slower side and notched up his first fifty of the season. Moeen Ali took his time before taking on Ravi Bishnoi for three consecutive sixes to inject momentum into the Chennai innings. After Moeen's departure, MS Dhoni teed off, as he has done throughout the season, to give his side the finishing kick. 63 runs came off the last four overs, taking Chennai to 176. For Lucknow, Krunal Pandya was the pick of the bowlers, with figures of 2 for 16 from his three overs.

On the other hand, Chennai have succumbed to their third loss in as many as 4 matches away from home so far. Given the late flourish provided by MS Dhoni, Chennai had the momentum but could not really take it into their bowling effort. A wicket-less Powerplay left them scrambling for wickets in the middle overs. Matheesha Pathirana dropping Quinton de Kock when he was on 31, made matters worse for them. Mustafizur Rahman helped them break the opening stand but the game was pretty much done by then. They needed a couple of wickets more at that stage to stage a comeback but it did not happen and even though, they managed to dismiss KL Rahul later, it was nothing more than a consolation for Matheesha Pathirana and Chennai. Chennai now travel back home, where they will play three games back-to-back, the first of which will be against Lucknow, and Ruturaj Gaikwad and Co. will aim to avenge this defeat.

A happy homecoming for Lucknow as they return home and return to winning ways! A statement win from KL Rahul and his men against the five-time champions. Although they stay on 5th in the standings, this win has come at just the right time for Lucknow, who were coming off two consecutive defeats. Lucknow got off to an ideal start in their chase of 177 runs. KL Rahul took full advantage of the fielding restrictions, capitalizing on loose deliveries to score freely. Despite not being at his best, Quinton de Kock showed resilience and did well to hang in there. Both batters reached their half-centuries, laying a solid foundation for their team. With their 134-run opening stand, the highest by any team in this year's Indian T20 League, Lucknow were put in a match-winning position. It was then a matter of finishing the game quickly and boosting the net run rate, leading them to send Nicholas Pooran to the crease at the departure of de Kock. Rahul got out on 82 but Nicholas Pooran and Marcus Stoinis ensured that there were no more hiccups in the chase and got Lucknow over the line with an over to spare.

FOUR! Finishes off in style! Short ball from Tushar Deshpande outside the off stump line and Nicholas Pooran slashes it hard over the head of the point fielder and gets a boundary to win the match for his team. Lucknow win by 8 wickets with an over to spare.

NO BALL! Tushar Deshpande bowls a beamer towards Nicholas Pooran as he looks to play the upper cut and misses. The umpire signals NO BALL and Chennai take the review. Chennai review but the big screen shows that the ball is way over the waist height of Nicholas Pooran and is a NO BALL. Free Hit coming up with the scores tied.

Holds his length back at the batter. Marcus Stoinis flicks the ball to deep mid-wicket and runs a single.

Pitches the ball up outside the off stump line. Marcus Stoinis lofts the ball over covers and finds himself a couple.

Hits the length hard outside the off stump line. Marcus Stoinis looks to slog it towards mid-wicket but gets an inside edge back to MS Dhoni on the bounce.

WIDE! Only 5 required now for Lucknow as Tushar Deshpande has bowled another wide outside the off stump line.

WIDE! Wayward outside the line of the off stump. Wide called.

FOUR! Marcus Stoinis drives a fuller ball outside the off stump to perfection and finds the gap to the right of deep point for a boundary. 7 required now for Lucknow to win.

Pitched up on the stumps. Nicholas Pooran drives the ball to long on for a single.

Chennai have been penalised for a slow over rate, and they will be allowed only four fielders outside the 30-yard circle from hereon. It will be Tushar Deshpande to bowl the penultimate over. Can he take the game to the last over?