"Give this man some thing @LucknowIPL @JontyRhodes8". This post by a user on microblogging website 'X' drew the attention of Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and their fielding coach Jonty Rhodes towards an LSG fan who was seen braving a sea of Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) yellow army around him in the stands at the MA Chidambaram Stadium to celebrate Lucknow's march to victory hysterially.
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Referring to Lucknow's big win over CSK, Jonty replied to the post on 'X' after teh match: "We gave him 2 points! Saw him on the big screen during the 19th over, and just felt like we needed to give this man something to cheer about at the end of the game."
Batting first and riding on skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad's 60-ball 108 not out, hosts CSK put up a commanding 210 for 4 on the board. But it didn't prove enough in front of a rampaging Marcus Stoinis who smashed 124 not out off 63 balls to take LSG home for a six-wicket win.
Promoting Stoinis up the order at No. 3 proved to be a master stroke by Lucknow skipper KL Rahul.
"We felt like we needed to be braver and capitalize the powerplay and needed one power-hitter in the top three. I’ve realized that T20 cricket has changed in the past couple of years, 170-180 doesn’t always cut it. You need to go harder in the powerplay and the impact player rule also gives you a bit more depth," said Rahul.
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"Full credit to Stoinis. It was not just power hitting, it was very clever batting. He picked his bowlers and played very well."
The win took Lucknow to No. 4 on the points table with 10 points from 5 wins in 8 matches, while Chennai slipped to No. 5 after their fourth defeat in 8 matches.
