LUCKNOW: Former India captain M.S. Dhoni rolled back the years with an unbeaten 26 as Chennai Super Kings bounced back from five losses to down Lucknow Super Giants by five wickets in the IPL on Monday.
Chasing a tricky 167, Chennai rode on an unbeaten stand of 57 between Shivam Dube, who hit 43, and Dhoni to achieve their target with three balls to spare at Lucknow’s Ekana Stadium.
The 43-year-old Dhoni, who took over as captain from the injured Ruturaj Gaikwad in their previous defeat, strode in at number seven and smashed four fours and a six in his 11-ball knock to silence suggestions that he had lost his touch as a master finisher.
The left-handed Dube, who came in as an impact substitute for the five-time champions, got the winning boundary in his 37-ball knock.
The result snapped Chennai’s streak of losses but they still remain bottom of the 10-team table with two wins in seven matches.
They started strongly with openers Shaik Rasheed and New Zealand’s Rachin Ravindra, who hit 37, putting together a 52-run partnership inside five overs.
Pace bowler Avesh Khan struck first to cut short Rasheed’s knock on 27 and Lucknow’s ploy to bring in part-time spinner Aiden Markram worked when the South African dismissed the left-handed Ravindra.
Impact substitute Ravi Bishnoi struck with two key blows as he caught and bowled Rahul Tripathi for nine and then had Ravindra Jadeja taken at long-on for seven to dent Chennai’s chase.
But Dube took charge and took Chennai over the line alongside Dhoni who walked in to loud cheers from the Lucknow crowd largely supporting Chennai.
Lucknow suffered their third loss in seven matches but can take consolation from skipper Rishabh Pant’s back-to-form 63 in their 166-7 after being invited to bat first.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Pant, who had scores of 0, 15, 2, 2, 21 in his previous five innings, started cautiously with Lucknow on 23-2.
The swashbuckling left-hander played six dot balls to Afghanistan left-arm wrist spinner Noor Ahmad in the middle of his knock but finished with four fours and fours sixes in his 49-ball stay.
Pant’s innings involved key stands, adding 50 with Mitchell Marsh, who hit 30 on his return after he missed the previous match, and 53 with Abdul Samad, who made 20.
Pant finally fell to Sri Lanka pace bowler Matheesha Pathirana, who took two wickets in the 20th over.
Jadeja stood out with figures of 2-24 in his three overs of left-arm spin.
Dhoni snaps Chennai’s five-match IPL losing streak
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Dhoni snaps Chennai’s five-match IPL losing streak
- Chasing a tricky 167, Chennai rode on an unbeaten stand of 57 between Shivam Dube, who hit 43, and Dhoni to achieve their target
- Result snapped Chennai’s streak of losses but they still remain bottom of the 10-team table with two wins in seven matches
Rabiot double lifts Milan after early scare at Como
- Milan are second in the standings on 43 points, three behind rivals Inter Milan and three clear of Napoli in third, while Como are sixth with 34 points
COMO, Italy: AC Milan came from behind to earn a 3-1 victory at Como on Thursday, with Adrien Rabiot scoring twice to keep the away side in the Serie A title race.
Milan are second in the standings on 43 points, three behind rivals Inter Milan and three clear of Napoli in third, while Como are sixth with 34 points.
Como made the brighter start and took the lead after 10 minutes when Marc-Oliver Kempf rose to head home a corner.
Despite the hosts controlling much of the first half, Milan struck in stoppage time as Christopher Nkunku calmly converted from the penalty spot after Kempf was penalized for pushing Rabiot.
Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan produced a series of strong saves to keep Como at bay after the break before Milan took the lead in the 55th minute when Rabiot knocked the ball in from close range.
Como were denied an equalizer as Nico Paz saw his effort from outside the box crash against the crossbar. Milan then sealed the win two minutes from time when Rabiot caught the Como defense off guard with a low strike from distance that crept into the bottom corner.
“This was a team victory, we showed our mentality,” Rabiot told DAZN after being named Man of the Match.
“We suffered a lot in the first half, but we talked during the break, came out with a different mentality, we all came out fighting for the three points.
“We gave something extra and I am very happy to score two goals, obviously, but above all I’m pleased with the mentality of the team.”
While Rabiot provided the goals, another Frenchman, goalkeeper Maignan, made his mark with a string of crucial saves.
“We knew that playing here would be difficult, we were well-prepared. We started a little sluggish and they scored, but we managed to keep the game open, and then all together started to play as a team,” Maignan said.
“We know these are great nights for Milan with an atmosphere like this. We suffered, we used up a lot of energy and left it all on the field.”
