Lucknow Super Giants could well be at the receiving end against Chennai Super Kings tonight, but their Aussie batter Marcus Stoinis insists confidence in home camp is high despite recent losses to the Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals
Lucknow Super Giants’s Marcus Stoinis during a practice session in Jaipur last month. Pic/Getty Images
If Mahendra Singh Dhoni gets a chance to bat for Chennai Super Kings in their match against Lucknow Super Giants tonight, the roar from the full house at the Ekana Stadium will be heard miles away. Heavy rains had last year deprived the local fans of the opportunity to see MSD bat, so the spectators will have their fingers crossed to finally see Thala come out and hit a couple of sixes as he had done in the previous match against Mumbai Indians at Mumbai. That’s on the wish list of the cricket enthusiasts. But for the teams, nothing but a win would be on their agenda.
IPL-17 at halfway stage
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As the IPL reaches the halfway stage, things are getting desperate for the teams and the margin of error is getting smaller. So close the teams are on the points table, a win props up their chances and a defeat feels like a big setback. LSG have a tough job on hand as they have lost their last two games, while CSK are coming here with a huge morale-boosting win over Mumbai Indians. The home team is in a bit of disarray as both their batting and bowling have not been up to the mark lately. They have been battling injuries, especially to their promising fast bowler Mayank Yadav, while many of the batters are still looking for their wanted form. Mayank has been bowling in the nets, thus there is a good chance that he could make a comeback in this important game.
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Going into the match, the home side have six points from six games and would be keen to improve their position. Talking to the media, LSG all-rounder Marcus Stoinis felt that winning three out of the six matches so far is not a bad situation to be in. “Yes, there have been three defeats, but still eight matches remain in the league. We lost close encounters against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Delhi Capitals (DC). A few more runs could’ve changed the outcome. We’re still in a good position with three wins and three losses and our confidence remains high.”
The other concern for the home team is the disastrous IPL debut their young West Indian fast bowler Shamar Joseph had against KKR. Tough he was quick, but his line and length were wayward. It will be interesting to see if he will be played against CSK at the expense of Naveen-ul-Haq. Stoinis came to the defence of Joseph saying, “Pressure is always present, whether it’s your first or 101st match. He [Shamar] bowled well with a good pace. This was his first outing and he has many more matches to come. I’m confident in his abilities.”
CSK’s strong bowling unit
While LSG have issues with their bowling, CSK’s attack has been impressive with Mustafizur Rahman and Matheesha Pathirana being the spearheads. Tushar Deshpande and Shardul Thakur have provided ample support while Ravindra Jadeja has been a steady spin option. The LSG batters thus have their task cut out and have to up the ante if they hope to overcome a tough-looking CSK on a pitch where stroke-making has not been as easy as it has been at other IPL venues. Whatever the condition of the pitch, sluggish black clay or sporting red clay pitch, one hopes for the sake of spectators, it provided for an interesting contest between two well-balanced sides tonight.
10
No of wickets Chennai Super Kings’s Mustafizur Rahman has claimed in this edition of the IPL
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