Chennai Super Kings (CSK) take on Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) as MS Dhoni won the toss and elected to bowl first in their Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Wednesday (April 3).
Krunal Pandya have taken the onus to lead LSG in absence of regular skipper KL Rahul, who picked up injury during their previous match against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
Meanwhile, Dhoni brought back his most trusted pacer Deepak Chahar in CSK's wing, who was roped in for Rs 14 crore in Chennai's squad.
“We wanted to bat first, so it is even stevens. The batters can go out and express themselves. KL is a big loss, he's a quality player but it creates an opportunity. The morale is pretty high, we are looking to play some positive cricket. Manan (Vohra) and Karan (Sharma) come in,” LSG's stand-in skipper Krunal Pandya said after the toss.
“We'll bowl first. The fact that wicket was under covers and it looks a bit tacky, so we'll look to bowl first. You have to see all conditions and venue. For us, Deepak is fit, so he comes in for Akash. You've decided it is my last IPL, not me,” CSK captain Dhoni said after winning the toss.
Head-to-Head
Matches played: 2
Lucknow Super Giants won: 1
Chennai Super Kings won: 1
Previous game's result: CSK won by 12 runs
Pitch Report
“Only 61 meters on one side, the other side is 75 meters. Downtown is 78 meters. The pitch is very patchy, there is quite a lot of green grass on it compared to what we've seen in the past. But is very dry underneath. Some plate cracking there. Don't expect this wicket to play with much bounce in it. Won't be a lot of bounce. Will still favour the spin,” Aaron Finch and Danny Morrison analysed the pitch.
Lucknow Super Giants (Playing XI): Kyle Mayers, Manan Vohra, Karan Sharma, Ayush Badoni, Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran(w), Krunal Pandya(c), Krishnappa Gowtham, Naveen-ul-Haq, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohsin Khan.
LSG Subs: Quinton de Kock, Deepak Hooda, Daniel Sams, Yash Thakur, Prerak Mankad.
Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Ajinkya Rahane, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni(w/c), Deepak Chahar, Matheesha Pathirana, Tushar Deshpande, Maheesh Theekshana
CSK Subs: Ambati Rayudu, Mitch Santner, S Senapati, Shaik Rasheed, Akash Singh
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