Even though it was an away game for CSK, the Ekana Stadium was filled with fans in yellow jerseys, waiting for a glimpse of MS Dhoni
Lucknow Super Giants won the toss and opted to chase in a venue known for its spin-friendly conditions
LSG silenced its own home crowd early on by removing Rachin Ravindra, with Mohsin Khan sending one straight to the stumps off the first ball Rachin faced
Yash Thakur removed CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad after he edged the ball to keeper KL Rahul
Ajinkya Rahane looked like he was settling in well but Krunal Pandya sent him back to the pavilion after a 24-ball 36
Shivam Dube and Sameer Rizvi departed without making too much impact on the CSK score
A 51-run stand between Ravindra Jadeja and Moeen Ali stabilised the CSK innings
Moeen Ali’s dismissal brought MS Dhoni out to the middle to join Jadeja
A Dhoni blitz followed with the former CSK captain chipping in with a useful cameo of 28 runs off nine balls
His innings featured three fours and two sixes - 24 out of the 28 runs he scored coming from boundaries
16 runs were scored by Dhoni in the last over of the innings
Dhoni now leads the list of most runs scored in the 20th over of the innings of the IPL 2024 season - 57
The 42-year-old has played at least one ball in the last over four times this season. In 16 balls, Dhoni has hit six sixes - most - and at a strike rate of 356.25.
At the other end, Jadeja finished with an unbeaten 40-ball 57
Chasing 177 for victory, KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock got off to a remarkable start with CSK struggling to diosmiss the opening duo
The pair stitched a 134-run stand for the first wicket off 90 balls to set LSG up for what looked like a comfortable victory
CSK’s first breakthrough came off the final ball of the 15th over, when Mutafizur Rahman removed Quinton de kock with a back of the length delivery that tricked the South African. Dhoni collected the ball and stumped his fellow keeper
QDK finished with a 43-ball 54
KL Rahul kept going, keeping LSG in a comfortable place in the chase, however Pathirana would have his number in the 18th over
Jadeja took a stunning catch at backward point to end Rahul’s stint in the middle. He finished with a 53-ball 83
While CSK tried its best, LSG’s batting was too good for Gaikwad and Co
Marcus Stoinis and Nicholas Pooran took LSG to the finish line, with the side sealing an eight-wicket win
Actors Ritesh Deshmukh and Genelia D’Souza were in attendance with their sons cheering Lucknow Super Giants