Mitchell Marsh’s boundary-laden 90 off 38 balls dented Chennai Super Kings’  playoffs chances and gave the Lucknow crowd something to cheer about. Chennai Super Kings (CSK) dropped from fifth to sixth after the result, with Rajasthan Royals (RR) leapfrogging them on net run-rate.

In pursuit of 188 on a tricky surface, Marsh flew out of the blocks, smashing 56 of the 86 runs Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) had hit in the powerplay. At the halfway mark of the game, ESPNcricinfo’s forecaster had pegged LSG’s win probability at 39.49%. It zoomed up to 91.24% after Marsh’s unfettered powerplay assault. Marsh fell ten short of a century, but Nicholas Pooran increased the count to 100% and sealed LSG’s fourth win this season.

They won by seven wickets with 20 balls to spare, but it still wasn’t enough to drag them up from the foot of the points table.

Akash Singh emerged from the sidelines for his first game of the season and produced career-best IPL figures of 4-0-26-3, against his former team. While Mohammed Shami explored the full length and conceded three fours to Sanju Samson in the first over, Akash banged it away on a hard length on a bouncy, red-soil Ekana pitch. He cramped all of Ruturaj Gaikwad, Samson and Urvil Patel and celebrated every wicket by pulling out a note from his pocket, which read: “#Akki on fire – Akash knows how to take wickets in a T20 game”

Only four of Akash’s 18 balls in the powerplay were fuller than a good length, according to ESPNcricinfo’s logs. His impeccable lengths were central to LSG restricting CSK to 37 for 2 in six overs. Akash bowled four overs on the trot and proved his point.

CSK’s 36 for 2 became 52 for 3 when Urvil holed out, but rookie Kartik Sharma repaired the innings along with Dewald Brevis, who contributed 25 off 16 balls. When left-arm fingerspinner Shahbaz Ahmed dragged one marginally short, Kartik picked up the length in a flash and swatted a six over midwicket in the ninth over. While Kartik’s back-foot play was Ambati Rayudu-esque, some of his front-foot shots and off-side range were reminiscent of Samson.

All told, Kartik took Shahbaz for 30 off 15 balls before the spinner had him caught at long-on in the 16th over. Kartik showed that he could also cut it against extreme pace as well when he backed away against Mayank Yadav and scythed a 144kph delivery to the right of point for four.

Kartik reached his half-century off 35 balls and hushed Ekana with his finger-on-the-lip celebration. When he was looking good for more, he fell for 71 off 42 balls.

Shivam Dube managed just one boundary off his first 11 balls, but went 6,4,4,6 off his last four balls to finish with an unbeaten 32 off 16 balls. Prashant Veer made a more sedate 13 not out off ten balls. With LSG incurring a penalty for slow over rate in the last over of the innings – they had just four men outside the circle – Prince Yadav cracked under pressure and leaked 23 runs.

Marsh set the tempo for the chase when he walked down the track to Mukesh Choudhary and picked him for four. Mukesh ended up conceding 15 runs in his first over and was taken out of the attack.

At the start of the third over, Marsh charged at Anshul Kamboj, manufactured swinging room and cracked him through the covers. It threw Kamboj off his signature hard length and he kept digging it shorter without having enough pace to trouble Marsh. In the penultimate over of the powerplay, Marsh lined Kamboj up for four sixes and a four. Marsh didn’t spare his Australia compatriot Spencer Johnson, who was on CSK debut, either, bashing him for three fours and a six in the sixth over.

In the absence of Jamie Overton, whose IPL has been cut short by injury, CSK lacked a middle-overs enforcer. They tried Gurjapneet Singh, but Marsh advanced at him too and launched him over the covers. Josh Inglis was just content to ride in Marsh’s slipstream.

Soon after Johnson knocked Abdul Samad over for seven off three balls, but Pooran rushed LSG home with four successive sixes off Kamboj, leaving CSK’s best bowler this season nursing figures of 2.4-0-63-0.

Brief scores:
Lucknow Super Giants 188 for 3 in 16.4 overs (Mitchell Marsh 90, Josh Inglis 36, Nicholas Pooran 32*, Mukul Choudhary 13*; Mukesh Choudhary 1-24, Spencer Johnson 1-39) beat Chennai Super Kings 187 for 5 in 20 overs (Sanju Samson 20, Rutraj Gaikwad 13, Kartik Sharma 71, Dewald Brevis 25, Shivam Dube 32*, Prashant Veer 13*; Mohammed Shami 1-41, Akash Singh 3-26, Shahbaz Ahmed 1-45) by seven wickets

[Cricinfo]