IN SUPER CLASH, CHENNAI WINS

CHENNAI: In its first Indian Premier League match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in nearly four years, Chennai Super Kings registered a 12-run victory over Lucknow Super Giants on Monday to open its account for the season.

Invited to bat first on a flat Chepauk surface by visiting skipper KL Rahul, Chennai posted a mammoth total of 217 for seven on the board, riding on an aggressive 110-run first-wicket partnership between the in-form Ruturaj Gaikwad (57 off 31 balls, 3 fours, 4 sixes) and Devon Conway (47 off 29 balls, 5 fours, 2 sixes).

Lucknow silenced the home crowd at the beginning of the chase via destructive opener Kyle Mayers (53 off 22 balls, 8 fours, 2 sixes), but lost its way in the 5-7 over period and could manage only 205 for seven. Off-spinner Moeen Ali (4-0-264) was one of the chief architects of CSK’s victory as he broke the back of the LSG batting lineup with a four-wicket haul.

Chennai, which had gone down to Gujarat Titans in the tournament opener, thus recorded its maiden win of IPL 2023 while Lucknow suffered its first defeat.

At the start of the match, the crowd that painted the stadium yellow was in for a treat as Ruturaj and Conway came out all guns blazing. A mixture of brilliance from the Chennai openers and poor execution from the Lucknow bowlers meant that the 38,000-odd fans witnessed fireworks from the very beginning.

Ruturaj took a special liking for Krishnappa Gowtham, smashing the off-spinner for three maximums in the fifth over – two straight down the ground and one over the cover region. While Ruturaj brought up his second successive half-century – off 25 deliveries – with a gentle single over long-on, Conway, who blasted leftarm spinner Krunal Pandya for two sixes in the eighth over, missed out on a personal milestone by just three runs.

Ambati Rayudu (27 not out off 14 balls, 2 fours, 2 sixes), Shivam Dube (27 off 16 balls, 1 four, 3 sixes) and Moeen Ali (19 off 13 balls, 3 fours) produced cameos while skipper and fan-favourite MS Dhoni (12 off 3 balls, 2 sixes) provided the final flourish with two maximums.

Young leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi (4-0-28-3), introduced only in the 10th over, stood out and pulled things back a bit for Lucknow after Chennai raced past the 100-run mark in just the eighth over. Pacer Mark Wood (4-0-49-3) took his tournament wicket tally to eight while finishing as the second-most expensive LSG bowler on the night.

In the second essay, Mayers raised his second consecutive fifty and helped LSG post the highest-ever powerplay score at the venue – 80/1. But, the West Indian fell immediately after bringing up his half-century, his dismissal off Moeen triggering a collapse.

The visitor lost three wickets in the span of only three runs – it went from 79 for no loss to 82 for three – and failed to build on the blistering start. Although big-money signing Nicholas Pooran (32 off 18 balls, 2 fours, 3 sixes) created mild panic among the CSK faithful, Lucknow fell short of its target at the end.

BRIEF SCORES: Chennai Super Kings 217/7 in 20 overs (Ruturaj 57, D Conway 47, R Bishnoi 3/28, M Wood 3/49) bt Lucknow Super Giants 205/7 in 20 overs (K Mayers 53, Moeen 4/26)