It's Dhoni show all the way in Lucknow
LUCKNOW: It has become a norm nowadays. No matter where they play and how they perform, Chennai Super Kings tend to get the maximum support from the crowd. Monday was no different as there was a sea of yellow at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow.
Among the 43,700 spectators in attendance at the stadium, more than 90 per cent were wearing No 7 jerseys and rooting for CSK skipper MS Dhoni. Such vociferous they were in their support that Dhoni's counterpart from the home team, Rishabh Pant, had to say that they will ignore the crowd backing the visitors when asked about it after the toss.
Dhoni, on the other hand, thanked the supporters saying, "I am blessed. Wherever we go, we get this kind of support." Eventually, that support seemed to spur CSK as they recorded a much-needed win over Lucknow Super Giants. And Dhoni, who was adjudged the Man of the Match, had a big hand in CSK's success. Dhoni (26 n.o off 11), along with Shivam Dube (43 n.o off 37), guided the team over the finish line.
After opting to bowl first, the former India skipper even showed glimpses of his prime when he ran out Abdul Samad in the last over.
Matheesha Pathirana's second ball of the 20th over was a full delivery down the leg side and the J&K batter, along with Pant, tried to steal a bye. Dhoni, however, had some other plans as he moved to his left, collected the ball and threw it over the sprinting Samad to hit the stumps at the non-striker's end. The crowd went berserk as the giant screen at the venue confirmed Samad's dismissal. Ironically, the home team had lost the wicket but how does that matter when none other than Dhoni had affected that run out. This has now been a routine scene at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, where the fans celebrate the fall of CSK's wicket as the next batter in is none other than Dhoni.
Earlier, it was not an ideal start for the hosts as they lost opener Aiden Markram in the first over with Rahul Tripathi running backward to complete a sensational catch. Haryana pacer Anshul Kamboj then sent back in-form Nicholas Pooran to reduce the Lucknow franchise to 2/23 in the fourth over.
Mitchell Marsh, who missed the last game against Gujarat Titans due to personal reasons, then rebuilt the innings along with his captain adding 50 runs off 33 balls. Ravindra Jadeja castled the Aussie to bring Ayush Badoni at the crease. The 25-year-old from Delhi survived a few close calls as a couple of reviews went in his favour but was undone by Jadeja with Dhoni completing the stumping.
Lucknow were crawling as by the end of 17th over, they were 121/4 with Pant battling on 40 from 39 balls. With time running out for him and the team, the LSG skipper finally launched Pathirana for two sixes in the next over as the team's total raced to 139/4 after the end of the over. He along with Samad also hit a six each in the next over from Khaleel Ahmed's over collecting 16 runs. He scored 23 runs off the next 10 balls completing his first half-century as the LSG skipper. His innings was laced with four fours and as many sixes.
Chasing a tricky target of 167, Andhra batter Shaik Rasheed, who made his IPL debut as he got into the playing XI replacing Devon Conway, gave a good start to CSK adding 52 runs with Rachin Ravindra inside the first five overs. Incidentally, this was also their second-best opening partnership of the current edition of the IPL. But as has been the case with the five-time winners this year, they lost a few quick wickets in the middle as they crawled to 104/4 in 13 overs.
In the next two overs, they added six runs as Vijay Shankar departed off the last ball of the 15th over. As Vijay was walking back to the pavilion, the noise level reached to the maximum as the next man in was Dhoni. CSK needed 56 off the next 30 balls and Dhoni's task was cut out. He started with a single but finished the 16th over bowled by Avesh Khan with two back-to-back fours as the crowd got behind him chanting 'Dhoni, Dhoni, Dhoni.' The shots were not perfect as they were when he was in his prime, a couple of thick edges flew behind the stumps for fours but neither Dhoni nor the spectators were complaining.
A waist-high full toss from Shardul Thakur was the last thing Lucknow wanted as Dube slammed it for a six with the umpire adjudging it a no ball much to the delight of the fans. Dhoni then got a reprieve but by then CSK had taken the hold of the match. In the end, Dhoni remained unbeaten on 26 off 11 balls as CSK registered their first win after five losses in a row.
It ended the way it had begun with crowd-puller Dhoni taking the team home and providing some unforgettable memories to his fans.
Brief scores: Lucknow Super Giants 166/7 in 20 ovs (Pant 63, Marsh 30, Badoni 22; Jadeja 2/24, Pathirana) lost to Chennai Super Kings 168/5 in 19.3 ovs (Dube 43 n.o, Dhoni 26 n.o).