Ayush Badoni stood out among the rubble with a refined half-century on a subpar pitch before Wednesday's IPL match between the Lucknow Super Giants and Chennai Super Kings was abandoned.
The 16th IPL season's first game to be postponed halfway due to rain was this one.
The game was delayed by rain in the 20th over, but Badoni had already placed his side in a respectable position on a very challenging surface when he entered at 44 for 5.
At one time, it seemed as if LSG wouldn't be able to surpass the 125-run threshold. Badoni, however, hit two fours and four sixes in his 33-ball-59 and his composure on a surface suited for slow bowlers was worth its weight in gold.
LSG and CSK are ranked second and third on the points standings with 11 points from 10 games, respectively. LSG (+0.639) outperforms CSK (+0.329) in terms of net run rate.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni successfully won the toss, and the CSK captain's choice to bowl first on a pitch that is undoubtedly unsuitable for an exciting T20 match was supported by his bowlers.
In contrast to other surfaces, the majority of the balls were gripping off the surface, making it extremely difficult for batters to hit through the line. Moeen Ali (2/13 in 4 overs), Ravindra Jadeja (1/11 in 3 overs), and Maheesh Theekshana (2/37 in 4 overs) kept the opposition in check and regularly picked off wickets.
They were so dominant that Badoni, who was batting at No. 7, slog-swept Sri Lankan spinner Theekshana over midwicket in the 15th over to score the first six runs of the innings. He then scored another maximum in the next over to help his side get some momentum.
Moeen was put on the attack in the fourth over by Dhoni, who correctly judged the surface to be “tacky,” and a flighted ball that invited Kyle Mayers (14) to break free did the job as he could only mistime a skier to Ruturaj Gaikwad in the deep.
In an unsuccessful attempt to take a lap shot, Manan Vohra (10) caught Krunal Pandya at the slip by Ajinkya Rahane.
Jadeja undoubtedly bowled the best ball of the inning when he caused one to spin sharply as Marcus Stoinis moved forward, only for the ball to swerve sharply beyond Stoinis' outside edge and strike the off-stump.
In fact, Karan Sharma struggled throughout his 16-ball stint for a laborious 9 before giving Moeen Ali a return catch.
Then, for the sixth wicket, Badoni and Nicholas Pooran (20) added 59 runs.
