Chennai Super Kings bowling still a big concern in second IPL 2023 match against Lucknow Super Giants

After a five-wicket loss against Gujarat Titans in the first match, Mahendra Singh Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings will look to score a victory against Lucknow Super Giants at MA Chidambaram stadium on Monday, April 3. 

KL Rahul’s LSG on the other hand, will eye their second victory after winning their first match against Delhi Capitals by 50 runs. 

While both the teams have key players who are in good form, the odds are stacked against CSK, as the team’s bowling had a poor show in the last match against Gujarat Titans.

Chennai’s bowlers couldn’t restrict GT batters below 182. Apart from Ravindra Jadeja and leg-spinner Mitchell Santner, Chennai doesn’t have depth in bowling. In the last match, it was Rajvardhan Hangargekar who picked up 3 wickets, but even then his bowling at a medium pace was not top-notch.

Ben Stokes's injury an issue for CSK

Stokes is touted as the star player of CSK and his unavailability in the starting matches due to an injury is likely to affect the team's performance. The England all-rounder was bagged by Chennai at a whopping price of Rs 16.23 crore and the injury in his left knee can raise concerns for Chennai.

Even if Stokes plays in today’s match, most probably he wouldn’t be bowling because of his knee injury. He would be part of the team as a specialist batter.

In the batting department, apart from Ruturaj Gaikwad who smashed 92 off 50 deliveries, no other Chennai batter could capitalise on the innings, and the team failed to cross 200.

Ravi Bishnoi and Kyle Myers big worries for Chennai

Debutant Kyle Myers, who scored 73 off 38 balls with seven sixes in his innings, looks like a big worry for Chennai. The West Indian all-rounder has started the tournament with a bang and it won’t be wrong to assume that he is the next big hitter of LSG. 

Apart from him, leg spinner Ravi Bishnoi can be another trouble for CSK as the Chidambaram pitch always favours leg spinners and Bishnoi had picked up 2 wickets against Delhi in the last match.

And with Nicholas Pooran, KL Rahul, Quinton de Kock and Marcus Stoinis on their side, Lucknow looks a formidable team against Chennai at the moment.

Pitch report: The Chepauk pitch has always favoured the spinners, and the team that bats first here has won 41 times while the one batting second has won 26 times.

CSK has won 40 out of the 56 matches it has played over here while LSG will play its first match today.

Probable Playing XI 

CSK: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Moeen Ali, Ben Stokes, Ambati Rayudu, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Rajvardhan Hangargekar

LSG: KL Rahul, Kyle Mayers, Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya, Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Krishnappa Gowtham, Avesh Khan, Ravi Bishnoi, Jaydev Unadkat and Mark Wood.

The match starts at 7.30 pm today and will be broadcast live on Star Sports and will digitally stream on Jio TV.