Mumbai: Defeated in their last games, both Chennai Super Kings and Lucknow Super Giants would look to register their first victory in the seventh match of the IPL this year at Brabourne Stadium here on Thursday.
Both were off to a disastrous start. Their top-order hardly made any significant contribution in the powerplay and could not post a decent total to defend.
CSK were outwitted by Kolkata Knight Riders, while LSG were smacked by Gujarat Titans in their previous encounters.
Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Convoy failed to give a good start, while Robin Uthappa made useful contributions, but could not convert it into a big score.
Captain Ravindra Jadeja looked out of sorts with the bat, while former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's fighting unbeaten fifty helped CSK set a respectable target. Ambati Rayadu also failed to impress in the last game.
Against LSG, the top order will look to make amends and apply themselves to put on a better performance. Moeen Ali's availability for selection will bolster the Machchas as they struggled to put runs on the board against KKR in the opening game.
The defending champions could only manage to put 131 runs on the board, which the Shreyas Iyer-led Kolkata Knight Riders chased down with nine balls to spare.
Moeen had missed the first match against KKR due to visa and three-day quarantine issues. The English allrounder was one of the four cricketers retained by the four-time winners ahead of the mega auctions. He was one of the best performers for CSK in the last edition.
Chennai would be hoping for a better bowling performance. Except Dwayne Bravo who picked up three wickets, none clicked for CSK. Fans also expect some brave captaincy from Jadeja.
On the other hand, LSG also are coming into the match with a defeat behind. Though they failed to impress in the last game, the team had some positives to cheer about.
The team cherished Deepak Hooda and Ayush Badoni's quickfire half-centuries that helped LSG recover to a respectable 158/6 after they perished to Mohammad Shami's devastating spell.
The middle-order, which did well in the last match, would like to continue against CSK's inexperienced bowling attack. Skipper KL Rahul, Quinton De Kock, Manish Pandey and Evin Lewis, who failed in the last match, would like to get into the groove.
In the same breathe, LSG bowlers including Dushmantha Chameera and Avesh Khan, will like to do well, along with spin trio of Ravi Bishnoi, Hooda and Krunal.
Teams:
Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja (Captain), Moeen Ali, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Dwayne Bravo, Deepak Chahar, Ambati Rayadu, Robin Uthappa, Mitchell Santner, Chris Jordan, Adam Milne, Devon Conway, Shivam Dube, Dwaine Pretorius, Maheesh Theekshana, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Tushar Deshpande, KM Asif, C Hari Nishaanth, N Jagadeesan, Subhranshu Senapati, K Bhagath Verma, Prashant Solanki, Simarjeet Singh, Mukesh Choudhary.
Lucknow Super Giants: KL Rahul (Captain), Manan Vohra, Evin Lewis, Manish Pandey, Quinton De Kock, Ravi Bishnoi, Dushmantha Chameera, Shahbaz Nadeem, Mohsin Khan, Mayank Yadav, Ankit Rajpoot, Avesh Khan, Andrew Tye, Marcus Stoinis, Kyle Mayers, Karan Sharma, Krishnappa Gowtham, Ayush Badoni, Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya. (UNI)