The IPL 2023 game played between Lucknow Super Giants and Chennai Super Kings was abandoned due to persistent rain, with both teams earning one point each. Lucknow could manage 125 for 7 in tricky conditions for batting before rain played spoilsport. Here are the highlights from the game.
Spinners make merry
On a two-paced deck that assisted the spinners, Maheesh Theekshana, Ravindra Jadeja and Moeen Ali combined to pick up five of the seven wickets to fall. In fact, the three spinners didn’t just take wickets but also kept the opposition mostly quiet, evidenced by the fact that they gave away 61 runs in 11 overs. The highlight of their spells was the delivery bowled by Jadeja to Marcus Stoinis that pitched on leg stump and spun away sharply to rattle the off stump.
Did any batter from LSG make an impact?
Ayush Badoni did by scoring a splendid 33-ball 59 in difficult conditions for batting. Badoni took a heavy toll on Theekshana’s bowling by cracking a couple of sixes and a four. In the 19th over, he also brought out the pull and slog to collect a couple of sixes and a four off Deepak Chahar. Badoni also showed batting smarts in his innings as he mainly targeted the shorter boundaries on the on side.
What about the pitch conditions?
It is true that the pitches in Lucknow have offered assistance to the spinners in this tournament so far. However, today, there was sharp turn. The little bit of moisture underneath perhaps accentuated the effect and made it even more difficult for the batters to negate the conditions.
The met office had predicted some rain showers through the course of the day, and that prediction proved to be right. In fact, a light drizzle delayed the start of play. The rains relented for a while before the heavens opened up again after the completion of the first innings. This time around, it was incessant rain and the game had to be called off.