It wasn’t our day as our three-match winning streak ended in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 with a narrow defeat to Chennai Super Kings at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Saturday.

Our captain Rishabh Pant led from the front with 63 off 49 balls, along with contributions from Mitchell Marsh (30), Ayush Badoni (22) and Abdul Samad (20) to guide us to 166/7 in our 20 overs after we were put in to bat.

Later, our bowlers picked up regular wickets to reduce CSK to 111/5, before late heroics from Shivam Dube and MS Dhoni helped the Super Kings chase down the target in 19.3 overs.

Marsh continues consistent run

After missing the previous game, our in-form opening batter Mitchell Marsh continued his scintillating form despite losing Aiden Markram in the opening over.

Our flamboyant southpaw Nicholas Pooran soon joined the party with two boundaries before he departed in the fourth over.

Meanwhile, Marsh slammed Khaleel Ahmed for a four, and followed it up with a maximum to put the pressure back on the CSK bowlers.

Our captain Rishabh Pant then opened his account with a boundary as we were 42/2 at the end of the powerplay.

Pant leads from the front

Pant once again left us in awe with a stunning reverse scoop off Jamie Overton to notch up our fifty in 6.3 overs.

Marsh and Pant steadied our ship with a crucial 50-run stand for the third wicket. However, we suffered another blow as Marsh fell for 30.

Batting at No.5, Ayush Badoni quickly hit a couple of exquisite shots, which included consecutive maximums off Overton in the 12th over. Badoni and Pant forged a quick-fire partnership for us before we lost Badoni.

Skipper’s fifty guides us to 166

Abdul Samad then joined our captain at the crease. Samad continued our attacking approach as he clobbered Matheesha Pathirana for a six in the 16th over. Pant later hammered Pathirana for back-to-back sixes in the 18th over to record his 19th fifty in the IPL.

Pant’s impressive half-century and Samad’s cameo of an 11-ball 20 helped us post 166/7 in our 20 overs despite losing a few wickets in the final over.

Avesh provides first breakthrough

Defending 166, our star pacer Avesh Khan gave us our first breakthrough as he removed Shaik Rasheed in the fifth over to end their 52-run opening stand.

Markram, Bishnoi bag crucial scalps

Later in the eighth over, Markram claimed the massive wicket of Rachin Ravindra which brought us right back into the game.

Our spin wizard Ravi Bishnoi soon joined the party as he dismissed Rahul Tripathi in the following over.

Bishnoi continued his brilliant spell as he got rid of Ravindra Jadeja in the 13th over.

Our winning streak ends

Our bowlers continued to pick up important wickets as our spin sensation Digvesh Rathi then dismissed Vijay Shankar to reduce CSK to 111/5.

However, in the final few overs, despite best efforts from our bowlers, Shivam Dube (43 not out) and MS Dhoni (26 not out) later stitched a match-winning 57-run partnership to end our three-match winning streak in IPL 2025.

With eight points from seven matches, we are still placed fourth on the IPL 2025 standings.

What next for the Super Giants?

Our boys will be aiming to quickly bounce back against Rajasthan Royals in our upcoming IPL 2025 clash at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Saturday.

Brief Scores: Lucknow Super Giants 166/7 in 20 overs (Rishabh Pant 63, Mitchell Marsh 30; Ravindra Jadeja 2/24) lost to Chennai Super Kings 168/5 in 19.3 overs (Shivam Dube 43 not out, Rachin Ravindra 37; Ravi Bishnoi 2/18) by 5 wickets.