IPL 2023, CSK beat LSG on return to Chepauk: Stats
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) opened their account with a win over Lucknow Super Giants in the sixth match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. The Yellow Army defended 217/7, restricting LSG to 205/7. Spinner Moeen Ali starred with a four-wicket haul. A century-plus partnership between Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway powered CSK's win. Notably, MS Dhoni's men returned to Chepauk after four years.
How did the match pan out?
Gaikwad and Conway came out all guns blazing after LSG elected to field. The duo added 79/0 after six overs and then took them to 110/0. Shivam Dube, Moeen, Ambati Rayudu, and Dhoni contributed as CSK compiled 217/7 (20). Kyle Mayers fueled LSG's run-chase with a 53-run knock, but they faced a collapse. Moeen took four wickets as CSK won by 12 runs.
CSK's third-highest Powerplay score in IPL
CSK's 79/0 is their third-highest Powerplay score in the IPL. The top two scores read 100/2 vs PBKS (Mumbai, 2014)and 90/0 vs MI (Mumbai, 2015). This is also the highest Powerplay total in an IPL game at Chepauk (Previous-highest: CSK's 75/1 vs KKR in 2018).
12th IPL fifty for Gaikwad
Like CSK's season opener, Gaikwad was aggressive and smashed four sixes. He also hit three fours, bringing up his fifty off just 25 balls. He was finally dismissed by leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi in the 10th over. Gaikwad, who featured in his first home game for CSK, has now raced to 1,356 runs in the IPL at 39.88. He slammed his 12th IPL fifty.
Third century-plus partnership between Gaikwad and Conway
While Gaikwad departed for 57, Wood dismissed Conway (47) in the 11th over. However, Gaikwad and Conway took CSK to the 100-run mark in the eighth over itself. They now have the most century partnerships by a CSK opening pair in the IPL (3). As per Cricbuzz, this is also the first-ever 100+ partnership for any wicket against LSG in the tournament.
Bishnoi takes three wickets
LSG leg-spinner Bishnoi applied brakes on CSK's mayhem. He dismissed the dangerous Gaikwad in the 10th over. Bishnoi helped LSG regain the impetus by removing Moeen and Dube. The wrist-spinner was the pick of the bowlers for the Super Giants, having taken three wickets for 28 runs in four overs. Bishnoi has over 40 wickets in the tournament.
Seventh batter to reach this landmark
Dhoni has become the seventh batter to complete 5,000 runs in the IPL. So far in the IPL, Dhoni, the former Indian skipper, has compiled 5,004 runs at an average of 39.09. He has slammed 24 fifties with the best score of 84*. Dhoni has a strike rate of 135.53. Before the tournament, he was 22 shy of reaching 5,000 IPL runs.
Here's how Dhoni unlocked the achievement
The crowd went berserk as Dhoni came to the middle in the final over (203/6). He straightaway took Mark Wood to the cleaners as the ball flew over the third-man boundary. Dhoni stood back and slogged the next ball over deep square-leg. Notably, both balls were delivered at over 145 KPH. With this maximum, the CSK skipper completed 5,000 IPL runs.
55 final-over sixes for Dhoni
Dhoni now has 55 sixes in the final over (20th) of the IPL. He has taken just 277 balls for slamming as many sixes. Former Mumbai Indians (MI) batter Kieron Pollard is next on the list with 33 final-over sixes (189 balls).
Moeen takes a match-winning four-fer
Off-spinner Moeen scripted CSK's win against LSG. He dismissed Mayers (sixth over), who slammed a fiery half-century. Moeen then got rid of KL Rahul, Krunal Pandya, and Marcus Stoinis to complete his four-wicket haul. The England all-rounder was the standout bowler of the match, having conceded 26 runs. Moeen had an economy rate of 6.50 in the high-scoring encounter.
A look at other notable numbers
As per Cricbuzz, Rahul now has the most runs against a bowler without getting dismissed in the IPL. The LSG skipper owns 134 runs against Deepak Chahar in the tournament (Previous-highest: 124 - AB de Villiers off Lasith Malinga). Interestingly, the CSK-LSG match saw the second-most runs scored in the Powerplay by both sides combined in the IPL.
CSK return to Chepauk after four years
IPL 2023 marked the return of the home-and-away format in the competition. The previous three seasons were held at limited venues due to the COVID-19 protocols. Notably, CSK returned to the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, after nearly four years. Before this match, the Yellow Amry played at this venue in IPL 2019. They finished as runners-up that season.
