Chennai Super Kings (CSK), one of the most consistent franchises, find themselves in an unfamiliar position as they prepare for a must-win clash against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Monday evening. With five continuous losses, including three at their home turf Chepauk, CSK is under immense pressure to change things around, or they will be pushed further down in the points table.
The absence of captain and in-form batsman Ruturaj Gaikwad has severely impacted CSK’s already struggling batting unit. Even the comeback of MS Dhoni on the captaincy post has not given any results, as it was witnessed in their recent loss to KRR. Questions have now been raised on team dependence on the veterans and lack of strong players in the middle order.
Lucknow Super Giants: Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant (c/w), Ayush Badoni, David Miller, Abdul Samad, Shardul Thakur, Akash Deep, Avesh Khan, Ravi Bishnoi.
Impact Sub: Digvesh Rathi
Chennai Super Kings: Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Rahul Tripathi, Shivam Dube, Vijay Shankar, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (c/w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Noor Ahmad, Khaleel Ahmed, Matheesha Pathirana
Impact Sub: Anshul Kamboj
According to the latest update by Accuweather, the match is anticipated to commence with temperatures around 31 degrees Celsius and is likely to dip further by 27 degrees Celsius. Lucknow is expected to have a clear sky with no chance of rain. Humidity levels are predicted to hover around 35% and 49% for today.
The pitch in Ekana Stadium, Lucknow is usually slow but has become more batting-friendly. Spinners and paces may also get benefits because of the soil.
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG): Rishabh Pant (C & WK), David Miller, Aiden Markram, Aryan Juyal (wk), Himmat Singh, Matthew Breetzke, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Mitchell Marsh, Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Arshin Kulkarni, Ayush Badoni, Shardul Thakur, Avesh Khan, Akash Deep, Manimaran Siddharth, Digvesh Rathi, Akash Singh, Shamar Joseph, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi.
Chennai Super Kings (CSK): Ruturaj Gaikwad (C), MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, Matheesha Pathirana, Noor Ahmad, Ravichandran Ashwin, Devon Conway, Syed Khaleel Ahmed, Rachin Ravindra, Rahul Tripathi, Vijay Shankar, Sam Curran, Shaik Rashid, Anshul Kamboj, Mukesh Choudhary, Deepak Hooda, Gurjanpreet Singh, Nathan Ellis, Jamie Overton, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Ramakrishnan Ghosh, Shreyas Gopal, Vansh Bedi, Andre Siddarth.
Meanwhile, CSK batting coach, Mike Hussey continues to be optimistic. ”We’ve have got the right players. We don’t want to force them to change their natural game,’’ he stated, defending the present order. Yet, with slow starts and limited boundary hitting options, CSK will need more contributions from Rahul Tripathi, Ravindra Jadeja, and the most reliable Shivam Dube. On the other hand, Dhoni himself, despite being in form, is batting unusually low at Number 9. This move has puzzled many analysts as well as fans.
Lucknow Super Giants are growing in confidence as they have won three matches on the hattrick. Initially, their bowling was considered as their weak point but now it has shown some improvements. In their last match against Gujarat Titans, bowlers like Avesh Khan, Shardul Thakur and Ravi Bhisnoi gave death overs, resulting in bringing the match in LSG’s favour.
On the batting front, Nicholas Pooran continues to be the top performer. The pitch in Lucknow is usually slow but has become more batting-friendly. LSG will be aiming to take advantage of CSK’s loopholes with their balanced squad.
(With inputs from PTI)
The proposal to build two tunnels in the Anantnag-Chenani corridor in Jammu-Kashmir has been halted due to multiple reasons presented by the Public Investment Board. The estimated cost of Rs 9,000 crore, existing roads connecting the origin and destination, lack of approvals and benefit have led to the rejection of the project.
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