LSG vs CSK

11:57 pm IST: Chennai Super Kings have picked up a win after five losses in a row. Is this the start of something special under MS Dhoni's captaincy? Well, the action will shift to New Chandigarh tomorrow as Punjab Kings host Kolkata Knight Riders. So, join us at 6:30 pm IST and get set for yet another extravaganza in the IPL for the year 2025! This is the pair of Pradeep and Bidipto taking your leave. Keep following Sportskeeda! 

MS Dhoni (Chennai Super Kings captain and Player of the Match with a catch, a run out, a stumping and 26* off 11 balls): "Overall, it was a tough game, but we were on the winning side and hopefully, we go on to win more. We bowled well in the power play. The middle overs went well too. I think we have done a decent job with the ball. But our batting needs to improve. Perhaps we have to start playing more on better wickets in Chennai, but even then, we have to make sure that we pick the right shots to play. Our batting so far has fallen short. Bowling has been decent. This attack looks better. We have put some pressure on Ashwin along the way, but now, we can use Noor if need be to fill in if the pacers don't bowl well. The batters have to take their roles well. We have not been able to do that properly. Shaik Rasheed has been with us for a few years. This year, his batting looked impressive. He batted well today, but it's just the start. What is important for him is to mix caution with aggression. I felt that Noor and Ravindra Jadeja bowled well and the fast bowlers too did well, so maybe they were better choices for Player of the Match! I didn't remember that I last won this award in 2019!"

Shivam Dube [Chennai Super Kings]: "This means a lot, losing five games in a row, that's not CSK. I've played three years for CSK, for me it was important today. Bowlers bowled well, I had to finish the game after that. We started losing wickets, Jadeja got out, Shankar got out, I thought I needed to stay till the end and take the game deep. It's not about the mindset, it's all about what is happening in the middle. We were losing wickets, thought about hanging in there till the end. When MS came, he started smashing the bowlers, it became easier for me. I had the choice of hitting the bad balls only. We take the positives, celebrations can wait, we need to keep prepping to play one of the best teams in the league."

Rishabh Pant [Lucknow Super Giants captain]: "Felt that as a team, we were 10 or 15 runs short. We kept on losing wickets at regular intervals, with the new batter we had to keep finding the partnerships. Wicket s nice to bat on, it was stopping a bit, but should've got 10 more runs. Feeling much better with each and every game, I tried to do that from game one, it hasn't come off from the start, but just taking one game at time. There was a lot of time thought about it, we discussed with the players, we couldn't bowl him. We thought we could take him deeper, but didn't work out. Bowling in the powerplay has been a bit of a concern, we need to figure it out. But we pulled it back in the middle overs."

11:29 pm IST: Chennai Super Kings win by 5 wickets with 3 balls to spare! 

Shivam Dube 43* (37) | Ravindra Jadeja - 2/24 (3)
Rishabh Pant 63 (49) | Ravi Bishnoi - 2/18 (3)

Did Rishabh Pant miss a trick by not bowling out Ravi Bishnoi? Did Lucknow Super Giants get their lengths wrong towards the end of the innings? Could the pacers have gone more off-pace and into the pitch at the back-end? There are lots of questions for the hosts to answer, but Chennai Super Kings have done what is needed! They have pulled off an important victory away from home when they were under serious pressure. 

The start was a good one for the team in yellow. Rachin Ravindra and Shaik Rasheed got them off to a bit of a flyer. But then came that middle-order issue in which Rahul Tripathi, Ravindra Jadeja and Vijay Shankar fell for single-digit scores. 

Shivam Dube was not at his best of course, but somehow, in some way, managed to stay there and stitch together a solid partnership with MS Dhoni to pull off an impressive victory! And of course, with such a lovely support of the crowd, MS Dhoni shone through at the back-end and smashed 4 fours and a six to get the job done! 

Dew did set in later on in the innings but the bowling through the middle overs, especially by the spinners, including Aiden Markram, was top notch! They got back into the game through those overs. Digvesh Singh was economical as always and Markram ended up bowling his full quota. Bishnoi picked up 2 key wickets. 

The pace bowling though was the problem. Both in the beginning and towards the end. This is one area LSG need to work on and maybe think about bringing Shamar Joseph in now. 

CSK move to 4 points from 7 games while LSG stay on 8 points from as many matches. So, MS Dhoni is back to winning ways as a captain in the IPL! 

19.3 Avesh Khan to Shivam Dube, FOUR! FIVE LOSSES LATER, CSK STRIKE GOLD! CSK finally snap their losing streak with a last-over thriller, as MS Dhoni stands tall in the middle, guiding them home like only he can! Too full outside the off-stump, Dube smashes it over extra-cover and it races away to the ropes to seal the deal.

19.2 Avesh Khan to MS Dhoni, nails the yorker, right up in the blockhole. Dhoni digs it out to covers and picks up quick one. Just three needed now!

19.1 Avesh Khan to Shivam Dube, nails the wide yorker, Dube squeezes it to deep covers and brings Dhoni back on strike. Can he finish things in style here?

We are down to the final over of the innings. As a batting side, you are expected to get it done. But, it's not that it can't be defended. But with Avesh injured, it will be tough to handle the pressure for any LSG bowler. Bishnoi should have been bowled earlier, if you ask us.