LSG Vs CSK, IPL 2024: Captain Rahul Architects Lucknow's Thumping Win - As It Happened

Lucknow Super Giants thoroughly dominated Chennai Super Kings with the bat at the Ekana Stadium in match 34 of Indian Premier League 2024. MS Dhoni's nine-ball 28 and Ravindra Jadeja's unbeaten half-century took CSK to a total of 176/6. In response, LSG began with a bang, as openers KL Rahul (82 off 53 balls) and Quinton de Kock (54 off 43 balls) notched up a 134-run stand in 15 overs to derail CSK hopes. A target of 177 proved woefully inadequate for CSK, and though Ravindra Jadeja pulled off a screamer to dismiss Rahul, the damage had already been done by then. Catch the highlights of the LSG vs CSK match in IPL 2024, right here (Streaming | Scorecard)

A red-soil pitch is in the offing, which could assist pacers more than the spinners.  In three matches played here this season, the 200-run mark has not been breached and scores between 150-180 have been registered. It will be interesting to see if today turns out to be another relatively low-scoring game, or the willow-wielders force the issue.

Lucknow Super Giants and Chennai Super Kings have locked horns thrice in Indian Premier League. CSK and LSG have won one game apiece, while one match - the last encounter between the two sides - in IPL 2023 was washed out.

Though it is an evening game, the heat will well and truly be on as the mercury levels are rising in north India. The temperature is around 37 degrees in Lucknow right now, and the players will hope for some respite as the night wears on.

Lucknow Super Giants have won the toss and elected to bowl first against Chennai Super Kings.

Lucknow Super Giants: Quinton de Kock, KL Rahul (wk/c), Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Krunal Pandya, Matt Henry, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohsin Khan, Yash Thakur.

Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Rachin Ravindra, Ajinkya Rahane, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (wk), Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Mustafizur Rahman, Matheesha Pathirana.

KL Rahul: Looks like a good wicket, dew hasn;t been a big factor. Hopefully it stays good for 40 overs. We would like to know what we are chasing. There weren't any blunders we made. Last game against KKR was a big defeat. Still pretty relaxed. I know it's halfway mark. As a leadership group, if we panic it spreads. That's not what I like to be.

Ruturaj Gaikwad: We would have bowled first. We batted first in the last game and batted well. (Win against MI) A good confidence-booster. Going there and defending is a big boost for us. We don't want to get complacent. We are trying to be as consistent as possible. 

The match begins. Matt Henry has the ball in hand for Lucknow Super Giants, and Ajinkya Rahane is on strike for Chennai Super Kings. Rachin Ravindra giving him company.

Rahane drives Henry for a trademark flowing boundary through the off side, but Henry comes back strongly with a tight line and length to not concede any other runs. Four for no loss after one over.

Mohsin Khan bamboozled Rachin Ravindra with a beauty first up. The ball shaped back in to the southpaw and beat his attempted drive through the off side. Rachin departs for a golden duck.

Captain Ruturaj Gaikwad has since joined Ajinkya Rahane and played circumspectly as the bowling has been disciplined and the surface perhaps not that easy to bat on. CSK are 29/1 after 4 overs.

LSG continue to deal timely blows. First, Yash Thakur has Ruturaj Gaikwad caught behind. Then, as Ajinkya Rahane's partnership with Ravindra Jadeja (35 runs off 23 balls) was looking threatening, all-rounder Krunal Pandya cleans up Rahane. Match nicely poised now as the big-hitting Shivam Dube joins Jadeja at the crease. CSK are 68/3 after 8.1 overs.

Lucknow have controlled proceedings nicely with wickets at regular intervals. Dangerman Shivam Dube mistimed a Marcus Stoinis delivery, that went straight up and keeper-skipper KL Rahul held on.

Impact Player Sameer Rizvi (substituting Ajinkya Rahane) joined Jadeja and scratched around for four balls, before dancing down the track and getting completely beaten in the air by Krunal Pandya. CSK have lost half their side with 90 runs on the board and less than eight overs to follow.

It's been an utterly action-packed last few overs. Ravindra Jadeja has got to to a superb half-century and unfurled the trademark sword celebration. Moeen Ali has departed after smashing three consecutive sixes off Ravi Bishnoi.

The wicket has brought CSK's favourite son MS Dhoni, the man everyone came to watch tonight, on crease. Exciting last two overs in store as Dhoni and Jadeja eye a death overs bonanza. Stay tuned.

He does it again. MS Dhoni has played a lovely little cameo at the end to not just delight spectators, but also propel CSK to a competitive total of 176/6 in Lucknow. Dhoni has smashed an ingenious nine-ball 28 to complement Ravindra Jadeja's 40-ball 57 and swing the momentum Chennai's way after a sluggish start and wicket-laden middle overs.

Going by how the wicket has played, a target of 177 might not be very straightforward. Join us on the other side to track how the chase pans out.

The Ekana Stadium is still gasping from MS Dhoni's innovative assault that captivated one and all towards the end of the first innings, but it is time now for LSG's chase. Deepak Chahar has the new ball in hand and KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock are at the crease for the hosts.

Chahar starts off with a disciplined opening over, giving away just three runs. Tight lines and trademark early movement keeps the openers in check, early doors. This could be a riveting chase.

It has taken next to no time for LSG to turn the tide with the bat. After a quiet first over, skipper KL Rahul has cut loose and along with Quinton de Kock, has powered his side to 54 for no loss after 6 overs. Pressure now on CSK bowlers to choke the runflow or break the partnership.

KL Rahul appears to be in the zone tonight. The LSG skipper has smashed a 31-ball fifty that has kept his team well in front, as they pursue CSK's 177-run target. Quinton de Kock, on the other end is also going along nicely and nearing a half-century of his own. Things getting trickier for Ruturaj Gaikwad and Co, by the minute.

After a full 15 overs, that is three-fourths of the innings, CSK finally break the opening partnership between KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock. Mustafizur Rahman has de Kock caught behind by MS Dhoni, but not before the South African had cracked a 43-ball 54. The 134-run opening stand means LSG need 43 more runs off the last 30 balls, with nine wickets still in the bag. Their game to lose, entirely.

And that's that. Nicholas Pooran hits the winning runs for the home team in the penultimate over. Lucknow Super Giants canter past the 177-run target with eight wickets and six balls to spare.

The foundation was laid by skipper KL Rahul (82 off 53 balls) and Quinton de Kock (54 off 43 balls) at the top, and before that, it was set up by the LSG bowlers. A target of 177 proved woefully inadequate for CSK, and though Ravindra Jadeja pulled off a blinder to dismiss Rahul, the damage had been done by then.

Lucknow clinch a win after two back-to-back losses, while CSK face defeat after two consecutive victories. Both sides now have eight points from seven games, and are placed fifth (LSG with an inferior net run rate of 0.123) and third in the IPL 2024 points table respectively.

LSG captain KL Rahul expectedly wins the Player Of The Match award for his match-winning knock of 82, in addition to two catches and a stumping with the gloves.

He says at the post-match presentation: "Feels good at the end of the day. When you win, most decisions feel right. We were committed to our plans. Really happy with that."

He adds: "We tried to mix it around. The bowlers executed really well. The team is sticking to the plans."

Losing captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, after the eight-wicket thrashing: "We finished well with the bat, couldn't have asked for more with the situation we were in. After powerplay we couldn't capitalize on the start we got and we kept losing wickets at regular intervals. I would say we were 10-15 runs short. Slightly difficult with such a total, with the impact sub rule you need 10-15 or even 20 runs extra.

"Pitches like these seem sluggish to start off with but with dew coming on it gets better, 190 would have been a good score. One area we would like to improve in is taking wickets in the powerplay. That will put pressure on the opposition. We need to work on it.

"Good to play them again (next game at Chepauk). We will come up with good homework done now that we have three home games."

That concludes our coverage of tonight's Indian Premier League 2024 match. We will back tomorrow with live updates from the match 35 between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Capitals. Until then, goodbye!