Lucknow Super Giants captain KL Rahul won the toss and elected to bowl first against the Chennai Super Kings in a key Indian Premier League (IPL) matchup at the Ekana Stadium on Friday.
LSG are coming off an 8-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and sit fifth with 6 points after six games. Meanwhile, CSK enter the match on the back of a 20-run victory against Mumbai Indians (MI) and hold third place with 8 points from six games.
Speaking at the toss, LSG captain Rahul said bowling first would allow them to set a target. "Looks like a good wicket, dew hasn't been a big factor," Rahul said. "We'd like to know what we are chasing. There weren't any blunders we made. The last game against KKR was a significant defeat."
CSK skipper Gaikwad confirmed Deepak Chahar replaced Shardul Thakur in the starting eleven. "We would have bowled first as well," Gaikwad said. "We batted first in the last game and did well. (Win against MI) A good confidence-booster. Going there and defending is a big boost for us. We don't want to get complacent. We are trying to be as consistent as possible. Just a bit lucky (on his batting), unlucky dismissal in the first two matches. Good to be back, good to be going. Everyone is confident. Two changes. Mo comes in for Mitchell, Deepak comes in for Shardul," Gaikwad said.
Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Ruturaj Gaikwad (C), Rachin Ravindra, Ajinkya Rahane, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (Wk), Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Mustafizur Rahman, Matheesha Pathirana.
Lucknow Super Giants (Playing XI): Quinton de Kock, KL Rahul (Wk/C), Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Krunal Pandya, Matt Henry, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohsin Khan, Yash Thakur.
