NEW DELHI, Apr 24
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) are picking up pace in IPL 2024 and just at the right time. They beat Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the second successive game this season. Alongwith Rajasthan Royals (RR), they look one of the most complete teams in the tournament as they continue to find new heroes every game. On Tuesday night, it was turn of Marcus Stoinis to turn the hero as he slammed a 63-ball 124 and remained not out to help his team chase down a massive target of 211 runs vs a strong CSK bowling attack in Chennai.
The win keeps LSG in the top four of the points table with 5 wins from 8 matches as the competition gets stiffer every day, especially at the top. LSG’s social media could not stop themselves from celebrating Stoinis’ knock and teased the CSK fans with a MS Dhoni pun. Take a look at the post below:
Stoinis was in his elements as he hit 13 fours and 6 sixes, batting with a strike rate of 196.83 in the innings. He ended up registering some records too in the process. His 124 not out is not the highest individual score in IPL run-chases.
This is also the second-highest individual score by a LSG batter after Quinton de Kock’s 140 not out that was scored in IPL 2022 vs Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). 124* is also the highest individual score against CSK in the IPL, bettering Virender Sehwag’s 122 for PBKS at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai in the 2014 Qualifier 2.
Earlier in the game, thanks to a terrific hundred by captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, CSK had posted 210 for the loss of four wickets. It was expected that, on slower and lower Chepaul track, the Chennai bowlers will not just defend the total easily but also dominate the proceedings. But Stoinis had some other plans. Decoding his explosive knock and how he planning his innings, Stoinis said, “It’s not just go go go, there were some bowlers we wanted to target and some bowlers we wanted to be more cautious against. There was a phase where I wasn’t able to hit the boundaries so it was great Pooran could come in and take the pressure off. Lots of ebbs and flows, just tried to keep it in control.”
