LUCKNOW : KL Rahul’s Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) won the toss and opted to field against Ruturaj Gaikwad-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the 34th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 at the Ekana Cricket Stadium on Friday.
LSG are coming into this match after beating Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 8 wickets. The Lucknow-based franchise are currently in fifth place in the IPL 2024 standings with 6 points after winning three of six games.
Meanwhile, CSK will go against the LSG on the back of a win over the Mumbai Indians (MI) by 20 runs. Led by Ruturaj Gaikwad, the Chennai franchise currently stands third in the IPL 2024 standings with 8 points, with 4 wins out of 6 games.
While speaking at the toss, LSG skipper Rahul said that it was a “big” defeat against KKR in their previous match of the tournament.
“We’ll bowl first. Looks like a good wicket, dew hasn’t been a big factor. Hopefully, it stays good for 40 overs. We would like to know what we are chasing. There weren’t any blunders we made. Last game against KKR was a big defeat,” Rahul said.
On the other hand, CSK skipper Gaikwad confirmed that Deepak Chahar replaced Shardul Thakur in the first eleven.
“We would have bowled first. We batted first in the last game and batted well. (Win against MI) A good confidence-booster. Going there and defending is a big boost for us. We don’t want to get complacent. We are trying to be as consistent as possible. Just a bit lucky (on his batting), unlucky dismissal in the first two matches. Good to be back, good to be going. Everyone is confident. Two changes. Mo comes in for Mitchell, Deepak comes in for Shardul,” Gaikwad said.
Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Ruturaj Gaikwad (C), Rachin Ravindra, Ajinkya Rahane, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (Wk), Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Mustafizur Rahman, Matheesha Pathirana.
Lucknow Super Giants (Playing XI): Quinton de Kock, KL Rahul (Wk/C), Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Krunal Pandya, Matt Henry, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohsin Khan, Yash Thakur. (ANI)