Lucknow Super Giants bagged the first win of the Indian Premier League by beating the Chennai Super Kings in Mumbai on Thursday. The architects of the LSG win were Evin Lewis and Quinton de Kock.
Earlier, Robin Uthappa turned back the clock with his beautiful yet brutal assault before his colleagues joined the party to propel Chennai Super Kings to 210 for seven against Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League here on Thursday.
Uthappa scored a fluent 50 off 27 balls to give CSK a solid start before Shivam Dube made 49 off 30 deliveries, while skipper Ravindra Jadeja (17 off 9) and MS Dhoni (16 off 6), who slammed two fours and a six, provided the final flourish to ensure that the four-time champions have plenty of runs on the board.
Young leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi (2/24) did a tremendous job with the wet ball in an otherwise insipid performance by the Super Giants' bowling unit. Andrew Tye (2/41) managed to pick two wickets in his final over.
Put in to bat, Uthappa looked like a man on a mission as he slammed Avesh Khan (2/38) for back-to-back boundaries off the first two balls of the innings. With the ball coming nicely onto the bat, he smashed it all over the park.
CSK were dealt a blow when a direct hit by Bishnoi from backward point marked the end of Ruturaj Gaikwad (1), who was well short of the crease in the third over. But Uthappa, and new man Moeen Ali (35), continued the assault by dealing only in fours and sixes.
The Super Giants bowlers had no answer for the duo as CSK raced to 73 for one at the end of the Powerplay. In all, Uthappa slammed eight fours and one maximum, while Moeen hit four boundaries and two sixes during his 22-ball stay.
It was Bishnoi again who gave the second breakthrough when he trapped Uthappa leg before with a quick delivery, soon after the batter reached his fifty. Dube picked up from where Uthappa left, cracking three boundaries off Dushmantha Chameera (0/49), who struggled with his line, in the ninth over. It was a bad day for the Sri Lankan as he repeatedly fumbled with the ball in the field, giving away easy boundaries.
With the bowlers struggling after getting nothing from the wicket, sloppy fielding made matters worse for LSG. Dube and Ambati Rayudu (27), then, shared a 60-run stand to keep CSK on course for a big total.
