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Lucknow Super Giants secured their fourth win of the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) season on Friday (19 April), beating Chennai Super Kings by 8 wickets. Captain KL Rahul led by example in a chase of 177 runs, albeit they would have had to chase a much lesser target, had it not been for MS Dhoni’s cameo.
The 42-year-old, who was coming into this match on the back of a match-winning cameo of 4-ball 20 against Mumbai Indians, was at his best yet again, scoring 28 runs in only 9 deliveries. Courtesy of his knock, Chennai scored 34 runs in the last couple of overs.
Talking about Dhoni’s knock, Rahul stated the intimidation factor got the better of his bowlers.
Although 176 was a competitive total on what seemed to be a sluggish wicket at the BRSABV Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow made light work of it, courtesy of a 134-run opening stand between Rahul and Quinton de Kock, which also happens to be the highest partnership in an IPL game on this venue. Speaking about his approach with the bat, Rahul said:
As is the case usually in matches involving the Chennai Super Kings, a large section of the Lucknow crowd had turned up in yellow, with placards for Dhoni. Given that Lucknow will now travel to Chennai for a match against CSK at the Chepauk on 23 April, Rahul feels it was good to get acclimatised to the Chennai support.
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