Big Picture - LSG's spinners vs CSK
Mentor and mentee, both struggling captains, lead teams on opposite ends of the table - LSG vs CSK is a clash of contrasts.
Rishabh Pant has some cushion as LSG are riding a three-match winning streak, while CSK have slumped to five consecutive losses for the first time in their history. Any sense of excitement or elation at MS Dhoni returning to take over as captain seems to have dissipated following a crushing loss to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at home two nights ago.
Where LSG have showcased batting flexibility and have backed unheralded Indian talents like Digvesh Rathi, CSK, by contrast, have stuck to a rigid template with little room for experimentation.
LSG have played with intent from ball one and haven't lost a wicket in the powerplay for three straight games, while CSK continue to struggle for momentum and stability at the top. They don't have a single batter in the top 10; Rachin Ravindra tops their charts with 149 runs - the last time a team did not have a single batter score 150 runs after six games into a season was KKR in 2014.
Nicholas Pooran alone has nearly hit more sixes (31) than all of CSK combined (32). His tempo at No. 3, along with Aiden Markram's return to form and Mitchell Marsh's aggression have made LSG among pacesetters: they score at 10.3 in the powerplay as compared to CSK's 7.5, which is the season's lowest. In fact, CSK's combined strike rate of 124.23 is the worst.
In their previous game at home, against KKR, CSK's batting approach was a reflection of these struggles. They attempted to hit a boundary just 15 times in the innings as per ESPNcricinfo's data - which is by far the lowest number of attempts by a team since IPL 2023. Overall too, their attempt to hit boundaries this season stands at 38.3% of balls faced, the second-lowest this season.
In all, CSK have lost most wickets to spin this season, and LSG have two quality ones in rookie Rathi and Ravi Bishnoi, who rediscovered his form in the previous game. That'll make getting out of the mess they're in that much tougher on Monday, but they must or they risk elimination halfway in.
Form Guide
Lucknow Super Giants WWWLW (last five matches, most recent first)
Chennai Super Kings LLLLL
Team news and likely XIIs
Mitchell Marsh missed the previous game because his daughter was unwell, according to Pant. LSG played with just three overseas players in his absence. If available, he'll slot back in for Himmat Singh.
LSG (probable XII): 1 Aiden Markram, 2 Mitchell Marsh/Himmat Singh, 3 Nicholas Pooran, 4 Rishabh Pant (capt, wk), 5 Ayush Badoni, 6 David Miller, 7 Abdul Samad, 8 Shardul Thakur, 9 Akash Deep, 10 Ravi Bishnoi, 11 Avesh Khan, 12 Digvesh Rathi
Matheesha Pathirana is likely to be in contention as an Impact Player. CSK had to summon an extra batter in Deepak Hooda because of their top order collapse against KKR. Pathirana has a favourable match-up against Pooran - he has dismissed him four times in five innings, averaging just 6.3.
CSK (probable XII): 1 Devon Conway, 2 Rachin Ravindra, 3 Rahul Tripathi, 4 Vijay Shankar, 5 Shivam Dube, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 MS Dhoni (capt, wk), 8 R Ashwin, 9 Anshul Kamboj, 10 Noor Ahmad, 11 Khaleel Ahmed, 12 Matheesha Pathirana
In the spotlight - Rishabh Pant and R Ashwin
Rishabh Pant hasn't been able to get going in IPL 2025 - he has tallied 40 runs at a strike rate of 80 in four innings. Until the previous game, he hadn't batted long enough to read a whole lot into the strike rate aspect. But against GT, he opened - for the first time in IPL since 2016 - and struggled his way to 21 off 18 before falling to Prasidh Krishna's slower delivery. Pant's rough patch hasn't been a cause for concern as yet thanks to their other batters being in form. Can he find his gears against CSK?
R Ashwin's reunion with CSK after nearly a decade hasn't gone as planned. He's bowled his full quota in just three of the six games, doesn't have as many wickets as he'd like (five) to show. He's been expensive in the powerplay and death (conceding at 15 an over). But he has a favourable match-up against Pooran, having dismissed him thrice in eight innings while conceding at a strike rate of 93. It's in the middle overs, where he concedes at 7.7, that CSK may want to use him, even though Noor Ahmad has the most wickets by a spinner (10) in that phase this season.
The Big Question
Pitch and conditions
The average score batting first at Ekana Stadium so far this season is 184. The ground dimensions are among the bigger ones in the country, which will bring spinners into play. The team chasing has won six out of the 10 games here since IPL 2024.
Stats and Trivia
LSG have scored 60 or more in the powerplay in four of their six innings this season. Their run rate of 10 against spin is the second-best.
Pooran's 67 sixes are the most in the IPL since 2024. His strike rate of 215 is second-best - behind Priyansh Arya - among batters with 100 or more runs this season.
Noor Ahmad has the wood over David Miller, having dismissed him thrice in six innings. Miller manages to strike at just 54.
LSG's economy of 10.8 in the powerplay is the second worst this season. But that's the phase CSK have been poor with the bat. Maybe this is an opportunity to capitalise.
Khaleel Ahmed's 66 dot balls are the second-most in the powerplay this season.
