Marcus Stoinis is considered one of the better players of spin in existing circuit. Stoinis even started off with a confident sweep shot for boundary against Maheesh Theekshana on the hat-trick delivery. Stoinis was however left stunned by Ravindra Jadeja's massive turner which claimed his wicket.
On the fifth ball of Jadeja's first over, Stoinis committed slightly to the front foot and tried to push the ball down the ground. The ball which landed on the leg stump line beat Stoinis’ bat and hit the off stump. As Jadeja celebrated, Stoinis looked back at the stumps with utter disbelief. He stayed at the crease clueless trying to digest what had just happened, before he reluctantly walked back to the dugout.
The Australian all-rounder managed to score just six runs from four balls and contributed to LSG’s collapse after Chennai Super Kings (CSK) Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and opted to field first.
Stoinis has not had success at LSG's homeground, Ekana Cricket Stadium. He has scored just 56 runs from six innings. His two half-centuries of the season came at Bengaluru and Mohali last month.
In the absence of an injured KL Rahul, LSG's top order looked fragile. After a slow start, Moeen Ali got the wicket of Kyle Mayers in the fourth over. Maheesh Theekshana struck twice in the sixth over to dismiss Manan Vohra and stand-in skipper Krunal Pandya. Ali came back to the attack and got rid of Karan Sharma. At halfway stage, LSG were 44/5.
Ayush Badoni and Nicholas Pooran helped LSG recover from the batting collapse. They took their time and played dot deliveries at the beginning soaking up the pressure. Badoni accelerated in the slog overs but Pooran failed to hit big. Pathirana got the wicket of Pooran who scored 20 runs from 31 deliveries and shared a 59-run partnership for the sixth wicket.
Badoni took on fit-again Deepak Chahar in the final over and smashed him for a four followed by a six to get to his half-century from just 30 balls. He finished the over with a six as well. He was batting on 59 off 33 balls before rain played spoilsport.
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