IPL 2022: Chennai seek to bounce back against Lucknow after opening loss

IPL - Dhoni — Mahendra Singh Dhoni's half-century in the opener after a long drought, along with Dwayne Bravo's three-wicket haul, were the only few bright sports for CSK. Image Credit: Twitter

Kolkata: Ravindra Jadeja, the new Chennai Super Kings captain, will want to treat their first match defeat as an aberration as they take on newcomers Lucknow Super Giants in Match 7 of IPL 2022 at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday.

While both teams are coming off a losing start, Lucknow had a number of positive takeaways from their close defeat to Gujarat Titans - be it the batting form of Deepak Hooda or the maturity of youngster Ayush Badoni. The latter, a former Under-19 India player, came in with his team reeling at 29 for four but showed excellent temperament in repairing the early damage and went on to score a half-century on IPL debut.

A big plus for the newcomers in Thursday’s match will be that both their world class overseas allrounders, Marcus Stoinis and Jason Holder, are now available for selection. Skipper KL Rahul, who nicked at the first ball of the match from Mohammed Shami on Monday, needs to live upto his reputation while his captaincy had also been under scrutiny - he gave his main bowler Dusmantha Chameera an over short while defending despite the Sri Lankan seamer giving them two early breakthroughs.

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The ‘Yellove’, meanwhile, had a rare offday against Kolkata Knight Riders in the opening match and but for a resilient half-century from M.S.Dhoni, would have slipped to a total below three figures. The defending champions lost wickets at regular intervals on a challenging pitch at the Wankhede Stadium and could post 131 runs on the board. Dwayne Bravo’s three-wicket haul and the half-century from ‘MSD’ after a gap of three years were a couple of positives to be taken into the upcoming game.

However, they have the ammunition to lift their game and a lot will depend on the start the usually consistent Ruturaj Gaekwad and Devon Conway can give the team on the Brabourne wicket. Robin Uthappa, who was threatening to turn the clock back in the first game and Ambati Rayudu, who are occupying the number three and four positions, will also have to play a key role.

The venue has hosted only a day game so far but things will be different in an evening game when the dew will certainly come into play - with the stadium being a neighbour of Wankhede and next to the sea.

Toss, hence, will play a key role as chasing will be the usual template in the coming days in these two Mumbai venues.