Overview
- Lucknow beat Chennai by seven wickets in Lucknow on Friday, racing to 188 in 16.4 overs on the back of Mitchell Marsh’s 90 and a 135-run opening stand.
- Chennai posted 187 for 5 through Kartik Sharma’s 71 and a late Shivam Dube surge, but Akash Singh’s 3 for 26 in the powerplay removed Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sanju Samson and Urvil Patel.
- The loss leaves CSK on 12 points from 12 matches, so two wins are now vital and they will likely need rivals to slip for a route to 16 points and a net run rate tiebreak.
- Selection and injury choices drew heat as CSK left out spinner Akeal Hosein, lost Jamie Overton to a thigh injury, and debuted Spencer Johnson while their attack missed the hard-length plans LSG executed.
- The playoff race remains crowded with up to eight teams still in contention and Gujarat Titans close to sealing a berth, as CSK next face Sunrisers Hyderabad on Monday at Chepauk before visiting GT on Thursday.