IPL 2023; LSG VS CSK: Rain Forces Match Abandonment, Teams Share Points

IPL 2023; LSG VS CSK: The IPL 2023 match between Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) ended in a draw due to incessant rain at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow. The rain halted play after the LSG had made 125 for seven in 19.2 overs. It was not possible to play the minimum five overs of the CSK innings. This marked the first time in several years that a game had to be called off due to bad weather. As a result, both teams were awarded one point each. They are now tied with 11 points each after 10 matches in the IPL 2023 points table.

After winning the toss, CSK captain Dhoni invited the home team to bat first. Captain KL Rahul was ruled out due to an injury he had sustained in the previous match against RCB. Thus, Manan Vohra and Kyle Mayers opened the innings for LSG. The surface at Ekana Cricket Stadium was quite sluggish, which may have been due to the rain before the start of the match. Consequently, LSG’s openers struggled to score runs. Moeen Ali got the wicket of Mayers in the 4th over, who scored 14 runs in 17 balls.

IPL 2023, LSG VS CSK: Chennai Was in Control of the Game Before the Rain Interruption

Vohra, however, was slowly getting into his rhythm and rotating the strike. Deepak Chahar, who returned from injury, proved to be expensive in his outing as he gave away 21 runs in his first 3 overs. In the 4th delivery of Maheesh Theekshana’s first over, Vohra tried to play a scoop shot. However, he missed it completely, and his stumps were shattered. Vohra was dismissed on 10 runs in 11 balls, having struck 1 four.

Theekshana, who had been impressive throughout the match, took the wicket of the newly appointed captain of LSG, Krunal Pandya. This happened on the very next delivery. Pandya was unable to read Theekshana’s delivery and edged the ball toward the slips. There, Ajinkya Rahane made a low catch without any mistakes. The umpires held Pandya back momentarily to confirm the catch’s validity, but the replay showed that Rahane had managed to get his fingers underneath the ball in time. This confirmed Theekshana’s second wicket of the match. Marcus Stoinis arrived at the crease when his team was in a difficult situation. He started with a boundary and seemed confident, but Ravindra Jadeja dismissed him in the seventh over. Jadeja bowled a superb ball that deceived him and knocked over the stumps. LSG was in a dire situation at 44/5 in 9.4 overs after debutant Karan Sharma departed following Marcus Stoinis.

Battling against the odds, young Ayush Badoni then came in and provided LSG a much-needed reset as he put together a 56-run partnership alongside Nicholas Pooran to help his side get past the 100-run mark. Badoni went on to score a brilliant fifty before the rain interrupted the play and continued to pour down, eventually forcing the game to be called off.