The match between the Lucknow Super Giants and the Chennai Super Kings, Match 45 of the IPL 2023, has been called off due to heavy rains in Lucknow. The umpires waited long enough to get something out of the game but the constant downpour from the Lucknow sky made sure that the match would end without yielding any results.
A delayed start
The match already began almost half an hour late because of the rain. At one point it seemed like the match would end without even the toss happening but the rain eventually stopped and CSK won the toss, deciding to bowl first on a slow Ekana pitch. The decision soon turned fruitful as LSG lost 3 wickets inside the Powerplay, including a golden duck by their captain Krunal Pandya. From there on, CSK’s spin trio of Moeen Ali, Maheesh Theekshana, and Ravindra Jadeja did not let the LSG batters stay long.
Matheesha Pathirana delivered some closing blows before the match came to a halt in the final over of the innings. By the time the rain hit the game again, LSG had scored 125/7 in 19.2 overs. It would’ve been lesser had Ayush Badoni not played a terrific inning of 59 runs in 33 balls. Pathirana, Theekshana, and Moeen Ali took 2 wickets each while Jadeja got 1, bowling a dream turned to get rid of Marcus Stoinis.
Match officially called off
Once the match came to a halt, the rain kept teasing the Lucknow crowd with a constant change in its pace. However, it didn’t slow down enough at any point for the game to resume. It was definite that LSG will not resume their innings and if the match resumes, it will start with CSK’s innings. At 6:50 p.m., an update came that the official cut-off time for a 5-over chase was 7:28 and the umpires were willing to wait until then.
But, with the rain having no intentions of slowing down, the umpires realized it would be a mammoth task to reprepare the ground for the game even if the rain decides to stop at one point. Thus, at about 6:56 p.m., the umpires finally decided to call the game off. MS Dhoni waved at the crowd while signing off which made the crowd go berserk. It was a delightful consolation for the Lucknow crowd that had come to see an incredible encounter. Since the match yielded no results, both the teams got one point each.
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