Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis repaid Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) faith by pulling off the highest run chase in Chepauk against Chennai Super Kings. Stoinis unbeaten 124 outshone Ruturaj Gaikwad's first ton as CSK captain as LSG ended CSK’s dominance at home with a six-wicket win. LSG registered their fifth win of the season to rise to fourth spot on Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 points table.
Gaikwad hits fifty
Earlier, Rahul won the toss and opted to bat first. In the first over, Matt Henry forced an outside edge off Ajinkya Rahane's bat. Rahane became Henry’s first IPL scalp after seven years. In the second over, Yash Thakur dropped an easy catch of Daryl Mitchell. Mohsin Khan conceded 16 runs in his first over. Gaikwad pierced the gaps with ease and hit boundaries. Thakur made up for dropping the catch with Mitchell's wicket on the second ball he bowled. CSK were 49/2 after powerplay overs. Ravindra Jadeja struggled to find boundaries in the middle overs. Gaikwad reached his fifty from 28 balls in the ninth over. Jadeja's troubled stay at the crease was ended by Mohsin in the 12th over. He departed for a 19-ball 16.
Dube goes berserk, Gaikwad hits 2nd IPL ton
Shivam Dube hit the first six of his knock off the fourth ball he faced. Gaikwad took the aerial route and cleared the boundary in the 15th over. In the next over, Thakur took a beating from Dube as he tonked three consecutive sixes. Gaikwad targetted Thakur as well. He hit a six followed by a four to reach his maiden century as capptain from 55 balls. In the penultimate over, Dube hit two sixes and one four to reach his half-century from 22 balls. In the penultimate over, he was dropped by Quinton de Kock too. In the final over, Dube smashed Stoinis for a six. After a couple of twos, he was run out. His 27-ball 66 featured three fours and seven sixes. Gaikwad took a single off the next ball. MS Dhoni finished the innings with a boundary as CSK posted 210/4. Gaikwad remained unbeaten for 108 off 60 balls featuring 12 fours and three sixes.
Stoinis lacks support
LSG's run chase faced an early setback. De Kock got bowled for a three-ball duck by Chahar. Rahul hit a six off the fourth ball he faced. Mustafizur Rahman in his first over dismissed skipper Rahul who hit it straight to extra cover. He scored 16 runs from 14 balls. After powerplay overs, LSG were 45/2. Stoinis hit the first six of his knock off Jadeja in the eighth over. He took on Moeen Ali and hit him for a four followed by a huge maximum over long-on. He reached his half-century from 26 balls. At the halfway stage, LSG were 83/2. Devdutt Padikkal was not helpful in the run chase. His stump was knocked over by Matheesha Pathirana in the 11th over. He scored just 13 runs from 19 balls.
Stoinis finishes it off with maiden IPL ton
Stoinis carried the run chase on his back in the middle overs. Nicholas Pooran started finding boundaries as well. In the 16th over, Pooran smacked Shardul Thakur for two sixes and a four. Pathirana in his third over ended Pooran's cameo. He scored 34 runs from 15 balls. Mustafizur was expensive in slog overs. Stoinis and Deepak Hooda hit one six each in the 18th over. The Australian all-rounder reached his maiden IPL century from 55 balls. In the penultimate over, Pathirana was expensive too. Hooda managed to hit three boundaries leaving 17 runs to defend in the final over for Mustafizur. In the final over, Stoinis hit Mustafizur for a six followed by four fours to finish the game. He remained unbeaten for 124 from 63 balls. His record-breaking knock was laced with 13 fours and six sixes.
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