The 45th league match of the IPL 2023 between the hosts, the Lucknow Super Giants LSG and Chennai Super Kings, was canceled due to heavy rain at the venue, disappointing a large audience at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow. After a significant downpour stopped play in the first inning’s final over, the two teams split the points.
The Lucknow Super Giants, who were playing without regular captain KL Rahul, hoped to revenge their defeat to the Yellow Army earlier this year. But due to a light shower in the afternoon, they had to wait a while before entering the field. After a little delay, the match began, with the visitors choosing to bowl first on a slow Lucknow track after winning the toss.
In the powerplay, the LSG batters struggled because the visiting spinners, especially Moeen Ali, spun a web around the batters at the top of the order. Half of the home team was eliminated inside the first 10 overs of the game as they struggled to adjust to the slow pace of the field. The host team was in danger of posting a subpar final score with the hard-hitting duo of Marcus Stoinis and Nicholas Pooran back in the dressing room.
Ayush Badoni’s valiant 50 minutes come to nothing
Ayush Badoni, however, outperformed his more seasoned teammates by timing his innings well. On a difficult surface, he scored 59 runs in just 33 deliveries to give his team a fighting chance of finishing with a respectable total. The LSG bowlers had something to defend in the second inning of this entertaining match thanks to Badoni’s counterattacking innings.
However, it was not to be, as rain had the last word and called off the game during the first inning’s final over. Match officials were forced to cancel the game due to a terrible forecast and heavy rain. In fact, this was only the second time an IPL game was postponed outside of Bengaluru.
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