After the match between Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on April 14 at Ekana Stadium in Lucknow, LSG’s captain Rishabh Pant expressed regret about not using his spin bowler, Ravi Bishnoi, for all his overs. LSG ended up losing the match by five wickets after CSK successfully chased a target of 167 runs in just 19.3 overs, marking CSK’s second win of the season after a rough start with five straight losses.
Bishnoi was impressive during his brief three overs, claiming two wickets, but surprisingly, he didn’t bowl again after the 13th over. This was a shocker since Shivam Dube and MS Dhoni were on fire, scoring runs at a rapid pace and turning the game in CSK’s favor. After the loss, Pant mentioned that he initially planned to save Bishnoi for later in the game to try and keep the pressure on the opposition. Unfortunately, the right moment never came as Dube and Dhoni kept scoring runs.
Pant noted, As a team, we felt like we fell a bit short by about 10 to 15 runs. We lost wickets at crucial times when we had the momentum going. We should have built better partnerships to keep the innings alive. The pitch was doing a bit, but I’m confident we could’ve added an extra 15 runs if we had been a bit smarter. I’m feeling more like myself with each game, but sometimes things just don’t go to plan. I’m working on getting my rhythm back one game at a time. We talked about what to do with Bishnoi, but it just didn’t work out today.
Bishnoi was instrumental earlier on, taking down opponents Rahul Tripathi and Ravindra Jadeja to give LSG a fighting chance. But Pant missed the opportunity to bring him in to bowl against Dhoni earlier in his innings, which was a missed strategy, especially given Dhoni’s past struggles with spin bowlers.
Dhoni stepped up during the match, forming a strong partnership with Dube that was crucial to CSK’s chase. They put together a solid 57 runs off just 28 balls, helping to seal the victory for the team. Dhoni’s performance not only helped his team win but also earned him the Player of the Match title thanks to his explosive batting and reliable keeping skills behind the stumps.
