Lucknow Super Giants vs Chennai Super Kings: Both teams eyeing to register the first win for the season

Can Lucknow register their first victory against the defending champions CSK?

Lucknow Super Giants had set massive expectations with their team strength on paper in mega-auctions. Despite having a strong playing XI, they lost the opening match against the Gujarat Titans by five wickets in the final over thriller as they failed to defend a target of 159. They started their match with a bat, having lost the toss. Superstar studded top-order, including KL Rahul, Quinton de Kock, Manish Pandey, and Evin Lewis, collapsed for barely 23 runs. Deepak Hooda and Ayush Badoni scored twin-half centuries, ensuring the team's middle-order stability. Bowling, too looked fine except for Avesh Khan, who failed to produce much effect in death overs in contrast to his previous seasons. With overseas players still unavailable, the team will look more proactive on the field as they will be clashing with defending champions tonight. 

Comeback match for CSK?

On the other hand, Chennai Super Kings couldn't produce their best performance in the opening match. Like Lucknow Super Giants, they too lost their five wickets of key batters like Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Robin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu and Shivam Dube inside 11 overs. MS Dhoni came to the rescue for the team to post a respectable total for the opposition as he scored his half-century. Despite all efforts, they failed to defend the total and got defeated by Kolkata Knight Riders by 6 wickets. With the comeback of Moeen Ali, CSK will look to find stability in the top-order with the bundle of experience that he adds to the team. They will look not to repeat their mistakes from the previous match. However, the bowling department looks a bit fragile and flaky without the service of pacer Deepak Chahar.

Pitch Report

The pitch assists both batters and bowlers, with dew playing its role in the second innings. Wicket can be expected to be conducive for spinners and will pose a threat to batters, especially in the middle overs of the game. Batters can be expected to enjoy the shorter outfields.

Predicted Probable XI

Lucknow Super Giants: Lokesh Rahul (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Evin Lewis, Manish Pandey, Deepak Hooda, Ayush Badoni, Krunal Pandya, Dushmantha Chameera, Mohsin Khan, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan

Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Moeen Ali, Robin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja (c), MS Dhoni (wk), Shivam Dube, Dwayne Bravo, Mitchell Santner / Devon Conway, Tushar Deshpande, Adam Milne

Stats to keep an eye on

KL Rahul has cleared boundaries 110 times in 56 innings since 2018. No one has more sixes than KL RahulMS Dhoni has the most sixes (51) in death overs, jointly with Hardik Pandya.Adam Milne has an economy of 9.47, which is very high in contrast with an economy of 7.52 outside IPL.

MS Dhoni has the most sixes (51) in death overs, jointly with Hardik Pandya.

Adam Milne has an economy of 9.47, which is very high in contrast with an economy of 7.52 outside IPL.

With a loss of one match for both teams, they will be hungry for the first win of the season. The contest can be expected to be a fiery one with one good takeaway: that one of these two sides will get their first win of the campaign while the other will succumb to back-to-back two defeats.