In what was expected to be an exciting encounter between the Lucknow Super Giants and the Chennai Super Kings, rain played spoilsport as the match was abandoned at the Ekana Stadium on Monday. Both teams were forced to settle for a point each, which didn’t change their positions on the IPL 2023 points table.
The toss was delayed due to a light drizzle, but eventually, the game started as scheduled. Lucknow Super Giants captain Shikhar Dhawan won the toss and elected to bat first. The team got off to a decent start, with their openers Shikhar Dhawan and Devdutt Padikkal adding 37 runs for the first wicket. However, the Super Kings bowlers made a good comeback and kept picking wickets at regular intervals, not allowing the Super Giants to score big. Ravindra Jadeja was the pick of the bowlers, picking up three wickets for just 18 runs in his four overs. Super Giants could manage only 135 runs for the loss of nine wickets in their allotted 20 overs.
In response, the Chennai Super Kings lost their in-form opener Jos Buttler early in the innings. However, Faf du Plessis and Suresh Raina steadied the innings and kept the scoreboard ticking. The Super Kings were comfortably placed at 74 for 1 in 9 overs when rain interrupted the match. The rain kept getting heavier, and the ground staff couldn’t do much to keep the ground playable. Eventually, the umpires had to call off the match, much to the disappointment of the players and the fans.
With this result, both teams now have 5 points from 5 games, with the Super Kings ahead of the Super Giants on net run rate. While the Super Giants would be disappointed with the result, the Super Kings would take some positives from the fact that their batting looked in good touch.
This was not the first time in IPL 2023 that rain had impacted the matches. There have been several instances of matches getting affected due to rain this season. While it’s unfortunate that the fans have to miss out on some exciting cricket, it’s important to remember that player safety is of utmost importance, and it’s better to have a match abandoned than risking injuries to the players.
Overall, while the result of the match was disappointing, both teams would take the point each and move on to their next games, hoping to put in a better performance and come out with a win. With the IPL 2023 season heating up, fans can expect more exciting cricket in the days to come.
