Mitchell Marsh fired a breathtaking innings of 90 off 38 balls to power Lucknow Super Giants to a seven-wicket victory over Chennai Super Kings in an IPL encounter at Lucknow on Friday. The visitors had already been struggling to keep their playoff hopes alive, but Marsh’s destructive batting turned a chase that looked manageable on a slightly two-paced surface into something far more comfortable. After CSK posted 187 for five—anchored by Kartik Sharma’s composed 71—the Super Giants reached the target with 16.4 overs to spare, handing Chennai a blow that left them needing plenty of help to keep their season alive.
Lucknow’s chase began with the sense that the pitch could be exploited if the ball was dug in, yet Chennai’s bowling struggled to generate the kind of swing that would have tested the batters. At times, the deliveries carrying the intent of skiddy pace or movement looked more like half-trackers than genuine threats, and Marsh made them pay immediately. The Australian, 34 years old, ate up the offering in his trademark style, turning the early overs into a statement of dominance.
Anshul Kamboj was one of the first bowlers to feel the full force of Marsh’s power. In the fifth over, he was struck for four consecutive sixes, with an additional four in the over as well, as the Power Play momentum grew further for Lucknow. By the end of the initial phase, LSG had amassed 86 without loss, and Marsh kept finding boundaries at will.
Spencer Johnson soon became the next target. Marsh dispatched him for two fours and a six as the chase gathered speed, and he reached his half-century in just 21 balls. Instead of easing off, he continued to press the accelerator, looking set for a huge score that would have completely rewritten the evening.
That rhythm was interrupted when Josh Inglis miscued a delivery from Mukesh Choudhary and was caught, skying the ball to Urvil. Marsh then departed in a cruel fashion: Nicholas Pooran’s straight drive crashed onto the stumps at the non-striker’s end after deflecting off Choudhary’s fingers, ending Marsh’s chances of another hundred. Even with the key wicket falling, Lucknow did not lose control of the run-rate.
With 24 required from 24 balls, the Super Giants still looked to be under slight pressure, but Pooran produced the kind of finishing punch that IPL games are made of. He struck Kamboj for four sixes in quick succession on the bounce, helping Lucknow complete the chase in 16.4 overs. Kamboj finished with figures of 2.4-0-63-0, a night to forget for the bowler, while earlier Kartik had given CSK the foundation they needed.
Earlier in the innings, Kartik Sharma made 71 off 42 balls after CSK’s top order slipped into trouble against LSG’s disciplined length. With the innings at a precarious 52 for three after 7.2 overs, Kartik steadied the ship and, alongside Dewald Brevis, added 70 runs for the fourth wicket. Brevis contributed 25, and together they helped CSK reach 187 for five, a total that looked competitive even if the pitch offered limited margin for error.
Kartik’s batting had a clear pattern. He showed discomfort against deliveries that rose around his chin, but he stayed composed enough to survive those moments and continue turning gaps into boundaries. Against Shahbaz Ahmed, he started by freeing his arms against spin—smoking the bowler for a six, then following it with another maximum and two fours in a row. His strength was clear when slow bowlers came into play, and at that stage his strike rate versus LSG’s pacers was 84, while his scoring rate against Ahmed was even more punishing, with runs coming at 140.
As the innings progressed, the 20-year-old also found a way to score off the pacers. He tore into Prince Yadav, smashing him for two consecutive sixes, while Brevis at the other end offered steady support, taking a six off Akash Singh and another off Shahbaz Ahmed. Kartik then moved to his fifty in style, clobbering Mohammed Shami for six to reach the milestone in 35 balls.
The veteran Shami did not get the last laugh on that occasion, but the innings did turn in a different way later. A sharp bumper caught Brevis off guard, and his pull ended with the ball being taken in the hands of Akash. Not long after that setback, Kartik’s stay also came to an end. He was dismissed when he lifted Ahmed straight to Aiden Markram at long on, having faced 42 balls in total.
Before Kartik’s exit, Akash had already caused significant damage. The left-arm pacer finished with figures of 3/26 and left CSK’s batters in a tangle by using hard length deliveries with precision. Sanju Samson, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Urvil all fell to Akash’s bowling, with his spell built around denying batters the space needed to swing freely for big shots.
That was especially evident in Samson’s dismissal. He tried to pull a ball that rose above waist height, but there wasn’t enough room for a clean swing, and the shot was swallowed by a tame catch to Mukul Choudhary near the square leg ropes. Even so, Chennai had a timely stabiliser in Kartik, and the finishing thrust later came from Shivam Dube, who struck 32 off 16 balls, keeping CSK’s total in the upper tier.
Despite the late contributions, CSK ultimately fell short of what was needed when Lucknow’s top order clicked and Marsh’s power set the tone. Marsh’s 90 off 38 balls ensured the Super Giants left Lucknow with two points, while Chennai remained on 12 points from as many games, still requiring victories in both of their remaining matches along with favorable results elsewhere to have any realistic chance of qualifying for the playoffs.
