A tale of two centuries: Marcus Stoinis’ power-hitting cancels out Ruturaj Gaikwad’s sublime show

At the halfway stage of the chase, CSK had nosed ahead. At 98/3, LSG needed 112 runs in the last 10 overs. The home team had more than one ace up their sleeve. CSK’s fast bowler Matheesha Pathirana had his entire quota of four overs and Mustafizur had three more. That is seven good death overs. LSG needed to score at 11.2 runs an over.

📽️ Relive a chase special ❤️

Superman Stoinis wins it for @LucknowIPL 💯

WATCH 🔽 #TATAIPL | #CSKvLSG https://t.co/x4laqWpncV

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 23, 2024

Off the final ball of the 11th as Pathirana uprooted Devdutt Padikkal’s leg stump, the CSK faithful cheered. For Lucknow, it was the moment that changed their course of the chase. With 13 off 19 deliveries, Padikkal was going nowhere. Immediately after Nicholas Pooran joined Stoinis, the momentum shifted. That Shardul Thakur, Tushar Deshpande, Pathirana, Mustafizur leaked 69 runs between 12-16 overs didn’t help Chennai’s cause.

In the first over after the second time-out Pathirana managed to get Pooran. It seemed like a dismissal that would swing the match CSK’s way. But from there on, Stoinis took the challenge head on. With Deepak Hooda playing a cameo, the Australian scored his maiden IPL century as even Pathirana and Mustafizur couldn’t stop Lucknow from completing a double against them.For a major part of the innings, Stoinis’ knock was almost a carbon copy of Ruturaj Gaikwad’s. Both got to their centuries off the 56th ball. But Stonis had more boundaries 19 — 13 fours and six sixes — as compared to Gaikwad’s 12 fours and three sixes. Stoinis’s strike rate was 196.82, bettering Gaikwad’s 180.

Dube’s blitz

In a season where Chennai’s overseas batsmen are struggling to find form, it’s their Indian recruits who have been making all the noise. Tuesday was no different as Gaikwad and Shivam Dube showed India’s batting riches. Dube, with every passing knock, is showing why his name should be among the first in India’s T20 World Cup list as his 27-ball 66 was as valuable as Gaikwad’s unbeaten 108 of 60. And to an extent, without Dube’s booster innings, Gaikwad’s hundred would have looked inadequate .

🎥 ICYMI!

Shivam Dube’s blazing 66 entertains Chennai 🥳#TATAIPL | #CSKvLSG | @IamShivamDube https://t.co/6kKzvjghtp

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 23, 2024

Jadeja’s struggles

Having shown attacking intent at both ends so far this season, Chennai managed only 85 off the first 10 overs. And it was largely down to Ravindra Jadeja’s promotion to No.4, ahead of Dube. This was another innings where Jadeja’s limitations as a T20 batsman showed up glaringly. Coming into bat in the final over of the powerplay, he played four straight dot deliveries, then got off the mark by taking a single off a full-toss. In his 19-ball stay, he managed two boundaries, and scored just 16. A delivery before he was dismissed, when Gaikwad was striking at 181.57, Jadeja went at 94.44.And it was Jadeja’s dismissal that changed the tide for Chennai. Having scored only 85 runs in the first 10 overs, the arrival of Dube would see the intent from both ends.

6⃣4⃣4⃣

WATCH how the @ChennaiIPL skipper reached his century 🎥🔽 #TATAIPL | #CSKvLSG https://t.co/cNOkXlE12x

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 23, 2024

The tall left-hander started with two singles before hitting a six off the fourth delivery he faced – the first of Chennai’s innings in the 13th over. And that opened the floodgates. Even Gaikwad, who was restricting himself, was beginning to free his arms. The 14th and 15th overs fetched only two boundaries and a six, before Dube hit three successive sixes of Yash Thakur in the 16th. From there on, it all went downhill for Lucknow. The 17th got them only 8 runs, but 18th delivered by Yash went for 16. Mohsin Khan then conceded 17 off the next over before MS Dhoni, facing the last ball, found a boundary as Chennai got 15 runs in the final over.If Gaikwad held Chennai’s innings together, it was Dube who turbo-charged them to 210. Despite not facing a single delivery from spinners, his strike-rate of 244.44 was what Chennai needed. Till LSG and Stoinis stunned the home team.

BRIEF SCORES: CSK 210 for 4 in 20 overs (Ruturaj Gaikwad 108 not out, Shivam Dube 66; Matt Henry 1/28) LSG 213/4 (Marcus Stoinis 124 not out; Matheesha Pathirana 2/35).