Chennai Super Kings have had to work hard to get a result in a thrilling match in their 2nd match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 against the Lucknow Super Giants at the MA Chidambaram stadium in Chepauk.
After winning the toss, Chennai Super Kings posted 2017 runs on the board thanks to some brilliant batting from the CSK top-order. In response, Lucknow Super Giants scored 205 runs and lost the match by 12 runs. Moeen Ali was the Hero with the ball as he took 4 wickets in the match and got CSK back into the match.
Batting first, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) scored 217 runs. Opening duo added a 100 runs partnership in which Ruturaj Gaikwad smashed another fifty as he scored 57 runs. His opening partner Devon Conway missed out on a half-century by just 3 runs. Shivam Dube played some cracking shots. All in all with the contributions, CSK posted 217 runs on the board.
Chasing the target, Kyle Mayers gave Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) a flying start. The West Indies powerful striker smashed 53 runs in 22 balls. The team was looking on course to chase the target. But then came the CSK spinners, particularly Moeen Ali, who took the wicket of Mayers to bring CSK back in the match.
In the end, LSG fought hard to got close to CSK’s total. In the last 2 overs when LSG needed boundaries to make the require run lesser, Krishnappa Gowtham played a brilliant scoop shot but Ruturaj Gaikwad on third-man came charging and stopped the ball from racing to the boundary line.
However, while nobody noticed it, former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar, who was commentary noticed something that could meant CSK could have ended in a lot more trouble. Actually, after stopping the ball, Gaikwad tried to control himself while he was sliding and in the very moment, he unintentionally touch the ball with the towel he was carrying on his back.
Gavaskar noticed and commented on air that it should have been a five penalty runs to Lucknow Super Giants. As par the Cricket Rules, if the ball touch anything other than the player’s body or his batting equipment, a five penalty run should be given to the batting team.
In the end, this also proved crucial for CSK to win the match. Had it been given a five penalty runs, the situation could have been different.