Lucknow, Apr 14: Chennai Super Kings’ bowlers showcased remarkable discipline to restrict Lucknow Super Giants to 166/7 in Match 30 of the Indian Premier League 2025, here at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Cricket Stadium.

Despite a valiant half-century from captain Rishabh Pant (63), CSK’s calculated bowling and sharp fielding ensured that LSG never quite got away on a slightly sticky surface.

Pant, whose start to IPL 2025 had been patchy, played the anchor role with a gritty 63 off 49 deliveries — his first half-century of the season. Walking in after the early wickets of Aiden Markram and Nicholas Pooran — both dismissed inside the powerplay — Pant steadied the ship, first alongside Mitchell Marsh and later with Ayush Badoni.

While Pant’s knock lacked the flair his fans associate with him, it was one of necessity. He struggled particularly against the spin duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Noor Ahmad. Against Noor, Pant managed just 6 runs off 15 balls — including 10 dot deliveries — marking one of the slowest head-to-head battles in IPL history. His eventual strike-rate of 117.77 did little to accelerate LSG’s innings during the crucial middle overs.

Mitchell Marsh provided a brief counter-punch, scoring a brisk 30 off 25 balls before falling to Jadeja just after the strategic timeout. Badoni followed with a cameo (22 off 17), but just when he looked set to tee off, Jadeja foxed him with a wide one, and Dhoni completed a smart stumping — his 200th fielding dismissal in IPL, the first player to reach that milestone.

Earlier, CSK started brilliantly with the ball. In-form Khaleel Ahmed dismissed Markram in the first over, aided by a stunning catch from Rahul Tripathi sprinting back from cover. Anshul Kamboj then removed the dangerous Pooran for just 8, courtesy of a successful DRS call by Dhoni.

While Pant finally found his timing late, with two massive sixes off Matheesha Pathirana in the 18th over, the death overs lacked the fireworks LSG desperately needed. The trio of Jadeja, Noor and Pathirana bowled superbly in tandem, especially in overs 11 to 17, conceding just 32 runs between them and choking the run flow.

In the end, LSG finished on a below-par 166/7. On a ground known for its spin and low bounce, CSK will back themselves to chase the target down, especially if their top order finds fluency.

Brief Scores: Lucknow Super Giants 166/7 in 20 overs (Rishabh Pant 63, Mitchell Marsh 30; Ravindra Jadeja 2-24, Matheesa Pathirana 2-45) against Chennai Super Kings

--IANS

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