Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captain Rishabh Pant has been fined after his team maintained a slow over-rate during Match No. 59 of TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Friday.
The offence marks LSG’s first of the season under Article 2.22 of the IPL Code of Conduct, which deals with minimum over-rate violations. As a result, Pant was fined Rs 12 lakh.
LSG beat CSK by seven wickets
Despite the penalty, LSG registered a dominant seven-wicket victory over CSK. Mitchell Marsh led the charge with a blistering 38-ball 90, guiding the chase with aggressive stroke play.
Marsh and Josh Inglis (36) stitched a crucial 135-run opening partnership, effectively putting the game out of CSK’s reach. Nicholas Pooran (32*) and Mukul Choudhary (13*) then completed the chase as LSG reached 188 in just 16.4 overs.
For CSK, Mukesh Choudhary (1/24 in 3 overs) and Spencer Johnson (1/39 in 4 overs) were among the wickets.
CSK post 187 as Kartik Sharma shines
Earlier, CSK posted 187/5 after being put into bat. Young batter Kartik Sharma top-scored with 71 off 42 balls, providing stability in the middle order.
Late contributions from Shivam Dube, who scored an unbeaten 32 off 16 balls, helped CSK reach a competitive total.
Akash Singh was the standout bowler for LSG, finishing with figures of 3/26, while the rest of the bowling unit supported well to restrict CSK.
Gaikwad reflects on CSK’s defeat
CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad said the pitch offered some assistance to fast bowlers, making stroke play on hard lengths difficult. He added that a target above 180 was competitive and credited LSG batters for their exceptional shot-making.
Gaikwad also noted that CSK’s bowling strategy focused on hard lengths based on opposition strengths but admitted the execution fell short.
“There was a bit of something for the fast bowlers. Found it difficult to hit it off a hard length… we missed on execution but they played extraordinary shots,” he said after the match.
Match summary
CSK: 187/5 in 20 overs (Kartik Sharma 71; Akash Singh 3/26)
LSG: 188/3 in 16.4 overs (Mitchell Marsh 90; Mukesh Choudhary 1/24)
