‘Thala ka khaata khula’ – Fans elated as Chennai win their first game of the season in ITL 2023 against Lucknow by 12 runs

The action returned in the Indian T20 League (ITL) on Monday, with the Chennai franchise hosting KL Rahul’s Lucknow at the Chepauk in both sides’ second game. Chennai came into the game after a comprehensive defeat against defending champions Gujarat in the season opener on Friday. On the other hand, Lucknow were riding high after their 50-run win against Delhi on Saturday.

Lucknow won the toss and elected to bowl first, inviting Chennai to bat first. The home team started off strongly as openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway stitched a 110-run opening partnership. Handy contributions throughout the batting order from Shivam Dube (27 off 16), Moeen Ali (19 off 13), Ambati Rayudu (27 off 14) and skipper MS Dhoni (12 off 3) took Chennai’s total to a mammoth 217/7 within their quota of 20 overs.

Moeen Ali remained the star for Chennai, returning with figures of 4/26

There were not many positives for the visiting Lucknow bowlers. But two of them completed three-wicket hauls – Mark Wood and Ravi Bishnoi. Avesh Khan returned with one wicket in the game but remained expensive, conceding 39 in just three overs. Mark Wood also remained expensive, going for 49 runs in his four overs. However, the story for Ravi Bishnoi was somewhat different; the star Indian bowler maintained a decent economy rate of 7 per over per T20 standards and remained the pick of the bowlers for KL Rahul’s men.

In reply, Lucknow started off well with openers KL Rahul and Kyle Mayers putting up 79 on the board from 33 balls. Mayers was the first to fall; he scored another half-century – 53 off just 22 balls. Lucknow then quickly lost Deepak Hooda and KL Rahul, starting a sequence of regular dismissals. They could only reach 205/7 in their 20 overs, with Moeen Ali remaining the star for Chennai with a four-wicket haul.

Next, in the 16^th edition of the IndianT20 League, Delhi  will face off against Hardik Pandya’s Gujarat. The defending champions are riding on their win over Chennai in the season opener, while Delhi suffered a loss at the hands of Lucknow in their first game of the season.

Here’s how fans reacted to Chennai’s clinical display: