Lucknow Super Giants defeated Chennai Super Kings by seven wickets in a key IPL 2026 match at the Ekana Stadium, significantly impacting the tournament standings. Chasing 188, Lucknow reached 188 for three with 20 balls remaining after contributions from Mitchell Marsh, Josh Inglis and Nicholas Pooran.
Chennai Super Kings, batting first after losing the toss, scored 187 for five in 20 overs. The team lost three wickets for 52 runs in 7.2 overs, with Samson dismissed for 20, captain Ruturaj Gaikwad for 9 and Urvil Patel for 6.
Kartik Sharma then stabilised the innings with 71 runs from 42 balls, including six fours and five sixes. It was his second half-century of the season. Dewald Brevis supported him with 25 runs from 16 balls as the pair added 70 runs for the fourth wicket.
Shivam Dube and Prashant Veer accelerated the scoring in the final overs, adding 45 runs in the last 24 balls. Dube remained unbeaten on 32 from 16 balls, including two sixes and two fours in the final over, while Prashant Veer remained not out on 13.
For Lucknow Super Giants, Akash Maharaj Singh took three wickets for 26 runs in four overs. Mohammed Shami and Shahbaz Ahmed claimed one wicket each.
Lucknow Super Giants made an aggressive start to the chase, led by Mitchell Marsh. The Australia batter scored 90 runs from 38 balls with nine fours and seven sixes. Josh Inglis contributed 36 runs from 32 balls, and the pair shared a century partnership that put Lucknow in control of the chase.
Nicholas Pooran finished the match with an unbeaten 32 runs from 17 balls. In the 17th over, he hit four consecutive sixes to shift the momentum decisively in Lucknow’s favour. Mukul Choudhary also scored 13 runs during the chase.
Following the defeat, Chennai Super Kings slipped to sixth place in the points table with 12 points and a net run rate of 0.027. Their playoff qualification hopes now depend on winning their remaining matches and results involving other teams.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Gujarat, Hyderabad and Punjab currently occupy the top four positions in the points table. Lucknow Super Giants, despite being out of the playoff race, registered the victory to affect Chennai’s qualification scenario.
