Lucknow Super Giants and Chennai Super Kings shared points as their Indian Premier League (IPL) match was called off due to rain on Wednesday, marking the first game in the 16th edition of IPL that had to be called off midway due to rain. Ayush Badoni, who came in at 44 for 5, provided a glimmer of hope to LSG with a classy half-century on a poor surface before rain stopped play in the 20th over.
Badoni smashed two fours and four sixes in his 33-ball-59, showing great temperament on a surface that is conducive to slow bowlers. He put LSG in a position of respectability on a very difficult surface, as it didn’t seem at one point that they could cross the 125-run mark. With 11 points from 10 games, LSG and CSK are placed second and third on the points table, respectively. LSG (+0.639) has a better net run rate compared to CSK (+0.329).
It was a good toss for Mahendra Singh Dhoni, and the CSK skipper’s decision to bowl first was vindicated by his bowlers on a surface that is certainly not good enough for an absorbing T20 contest. Moeen Ali (2/13 in 4 overs), Ravindra Jadeja (1/11 in 3 overs), and Maheesh Theekshana (2/37 in 4 overs) kept the LSG batsmen under a tight leash and also got wickets at regular intervals.
The first six of the innings came in the 15th over when Badoni, coming in at No.7, slog-swept Sri Lankan spinner Theekshana over mid-wicket and got another maximum in the next over to get some momentum going for his team.
Dhoni rightly assessed the track as “tacky” and got Moeen into the attack in the fourth over, with a flighted delivery inviting Kyle Mayers (14) to break the shackles. Mayers could only mistime a skier to Ruturaj Gaikwad in the deep. Manan Vohra (10) tried a non-existent lap-shot and Krunal Pandya was snapped at slip by Ajinkya Rahane.
Jadeja got one to turn sharply as Marcus Stoinis drew forward, only to find the ball turn sharply past his outside edge and peg the off-stump. Karan Sharma’s 16-ball stay for a painstaking 9 was indeed a struggle before he offered a return catch to Moeen Ali. Badoni and Nicholas Pooran (20) then added 59 for the sixth wicket before rain stopped play.
This was the second time that rain has played a spoilsport in the IPL this year. Earlier, the match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders was also abandoned due to rain in Ahmedabad on May 3.
