Chennai Super Kings (CSK) took on the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in a cracking encounter at the MA Chidambaram stadium on Tuesday evening.
The away side, LSG came out on top after a thrilling run chase against the five-time champions in their own backyard. Marcus Stonis’ brilliant hundred helped LSG overhaul CSK's 210.
CSK were put to bat by LSG after the toss and out came skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ajinkya Rahane to open for the home side. Rahane departed earlier while Gaikwad went on to make a dazzling century for his side, scoring an uneaten 108 off 60 balls.
Shivam Dube’s quick paced 66 off 27 balls also proved to be of massive importance, helping the team in yellow to set a target of 211 runs for LSG to chase.
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Why is Marcus Stoinis called 'The Hulk'?
LSG found themselves in trouble during the start of the run-chase as both Quinton de Kock and KL Rahul departed early in the innings. Out came Marcus Stoinis who was determined to chase down the massive target right from the start, and was well supported later on in the innings by Nicholas Pooran.
Stoinis went on to score an unbeaten 124-run knock off just 63 balls, winning the game for the away side in some style. Stoinis smashed 17 runs against Mustafizur to win the game for LSG. The Australian’s knock became the highest individual knock while chasing in the history of IPL and the highest individual score overall in this season.
Stoinis' magical knock has been hailed by both pundits as well as the fans. Many of them termed the Australian as ‘The Hulk’ on social media. “The hulk, The lone warrior. Marcus Stoinis you beauty. What a historical innings you played today” posted one of the users on X.
His nickname as 'The Hulk' was coined back in 2020 when the Australian played under the captaincy of Shreyas Iyer at the Delhi Capitals (DC). He was spotted being interviewed on the field with a Hulk action figure in his hand. When asked, Stoinis said that he considered the Marvel character to be his inspiration.
Meanwhile, the calm and composed KL Rahul also broke in animated celebrations as Stoinis scored the winning runs for the away side, who also took it to X to express his happiness and thanks the Chepauk crowd.
Chepauk! What an experience you gave us. 🙌🙌💛 pic.twitter.com/5euep2DQCq
— K L Rahul (@klrahul) April 23, 2024
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Why is the win so important for LSG?
With the win against CSK, LSG have taken the fourth and final playoff spot from the five-time champions for the time being. The side from Lucknow have now won 5 out of the games played this season. They will be hosting the table toppers, Rajasthan Royals at the Ekana Sports City stadium in Lucknow in their upcoming game.
Meanwhile, CSK have dropped to the fifth position in the point table with 4 wins and 4 losses in 8 games this season. They will be playing their next game against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at Chepauk once again.
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