CSK vs LSG: Back on home turf, Chennai Super Kings looks for first win in IPL 2023 against Lucknow Super Giants

The pitch at Chepauk has traditionally assisted spin, and CSK’s Ravindra Jadeja and Mitchell Santner will be key in driving their side to victory.

Chennai Super Kings will return to the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium for the first time since 2019. | Photo Credit: PTI

Returning to its fortress at the M.A.Chidambaram Stadium for the first time since 2019, Chennai Super Kings will hope to get the better of Lucknow Super Giants and post its first win of the IPL this year on Monday.

CSK lost the season opener in Ahmedabad to Gujarat Titans by five wickets and will need to come up with a better overall performance to tackle the Super Giants’ challenge. While Ruturaj Gaikwad laid the platform with a brilliant 92, none of the other batters complemented him, and Super Kings ended up with a sub-par total which proved costly in the end. Similarly, death bowling is an area of concern with an inexperienced pace attack. 

However, the pitch at Chepauk, which has traditionally assisted spin, should favour the home team and paper over the cracks in its bowling department. A lot rides on left-arm spinners Mitchell Santner and Ravindra Jadeja to give breakthroughs during the middle overs.

On the other hand, Super Giants come into the game on the back of a thumping 50-run win over the Delhi Capitals in its first match. The West Indies contingent of Kyle Mayers and Nicholas Pooran led LSG’s charge with the bat before Mark Wood sealed it with a brilliant five-wicket haul. Wood’s fiery pace could pose a big challenge for the Super Kings’ top order. 

But before whatever happens over the 40 overs on Monday, expect the biggest cheers to reverberate across the stadium when M.S. Dhoni walks to the centre for the toss. It is the moment fans in the city have been waiting patiently for the last few years. A CSK win will just be the icing on the cake.

SQUADS

CSK: MS Dhoni (c), Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ambati Rayudu, Subhranshu Senapati, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Dwaine Pretorius, Mitchell Santner, Ravindra Jadeja, Tushar Deshpande, Mukesh Chowdhary, Matheesha Pathirana, Simarjeet Singh, Deepak Chahar, Prashant Solanki, Maheesh Theekshana, Ajinkya Rahane, Ben Stokes, Shaik Rasheed, Nishant Sindhu, Kyle Jamieson, Ajay Mandal, Bhagath Varma.

LSG: KL Rahul (c), Ayush Badoni, Karan Sharma, Manan Vohra, Quinton de Kock, Marcus Stoinis, Krishnappa Gowtham, Deepak Hooda, Kyle Mayers, Krunal Pandya, Avesh Khan, Mohsin Khan, Mark Wood, Mayank Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Nicholas Pooran, Jaydev Unadkat, Yash Thakur, Romario Shepherd, Daniel Sams, Amit Mishra, Prerak Mankad, Swapnil Singh, Naveen-ul-Haq, Yudhvir Charak.