Mitchell Marsh’s mayhem gets LSG rare win, dents CSK’s playoff hopes
Aussie opener's belligerent 90 off 38 balls makes quick work of 188-run target to bring a smile on faces of suffering Lucknow fans
Synopsis: LSG-ian Marsh mellows CSK yellows after Akash flashes notes and serves notice
Two wickets in as many balls ignited hope for Chennai Super Kings. A third too would soon fall, but the havoc that Mitchell Marsh had wreaked with his 90 from 38 balls was so irreversible that LSG, resisting all their self-implosive impulses, sauntered past the finish line. Victory would only do so much to restore their battered pride. But it imperils CSK’s playoff hopes and dents their run rate.
Marsh, the man his teammates call Bison, sneered. He had sent the first four offerings of Anshul Kamboj over the fence. But the fifth— a savage strike no less — ricocheted off the bowler’s trailing right leg in his follow-through. So ferocious the straight drive was that it landed near the cover fielder. But Marsh did not stop; he was in a merciless mood, brutalising anything his long and powerful levers could reach.
AS IT HAPPENED | LUCKNOW SUPER GIANTS VS CHENNAI SUPER KINGS IPL 2026 HIGHLIGHTS
No doubt he was venting out his frustration. He has been LSG’s shining light in a season of pitch darkness. He had tried as hard as he could to salvage their summer of discontent, only to be woefully let down by his colleagues. Thus every blow spoke of his pain in seeing his side languish at the bottom. There is no comeback route, but Marsh wouldn’t bow out quietly.
His explosion was as spontaneous as it was savage. He was just knocking the balls through the gaps, picking fours and blocking the good balls. But Kamboj’s half-tracker, the first ball of the fourth over, roused him. He dismissed the ball from his sight, as though it were his sworn enemy.
Kamboj didn’t learn. Marsh was raised on the sun-blanched bouncy decks of Perth and bowling short to him, even if well-directed, is akin to committing suicide. Kamboj’s genial pace wasn’t to perturb him either. He gift-wrapped three more half-trackers, all of which Marsh deposited in the arc between mid-wicket and deep-square leg. A fortunate dot ball later, Kamboj erred on the legside, and Marsh duly picked up a four to complete the game-defining over.
In an unimposing chase as 188, a 28-run over could literally kill the game. The carnage continued in the same high octave. Marsh blew compatriot Spencer Johnson, for a brace of fours that preceded a six. The 19-run-over pushed CSK further onto the brink of a defeat that could jeopardise their playoff hopes.
ALSO READ | What LSG’s Akash Singh said in note he held up to celebrate wickets vs CSK
An ashen-faced Ruturaj Gaikwad shuffled his bowlers, but each returned with a golden memento from Marsh. He majestically drove Gurjapneet Singh over extra cover, Marsh’s hands flowing like a stream into the stroke, his feet dancing with balletic grace. It was exhilarating batting, yet he always felt in control.
In the barrage of boundaries, it’s convenient to forget Josh Inglis. Perhaps, he knew it too. He withdrew from the limelight, limiting himself largely to singles that put Marsh back on strike. Inglis did not want to entertain the audience, but rather be entertained by Marsh’s monumental knock. In their 135-run stand, the Yorkshire-born Australian’s contributed merely 36 off 32. But he had the best seat in the arena.
Even though they departed off successive balls, the foundation was so robust that LSG wrapped full points for just the fourth time this season.
Every time Akash Singh grabbed a wicket, he would take out a piece of paper, like a scroll, from his trouser pockets and flash it towards the dressing room. The message read: “#Akkionfire – Akash knows how to take wickets in a T20 game.”
He was on fire as well as picking wickets. He slashed through the CSK top order with seam movement allied with slippery pace. He struggled to control the inward seam movement he was getting, often leaning to the batsmen’s pads, but he removed Gaikwad with a skidding hard-length ball that took the splice of the bat. The same length defeated Sanju Samson, whose endeavour to flick the ball off his hips went only as far as Mukul Choudhary prowling the square leg fence. He then defeated Urvil Patel on the pull for his third wicket. The surface was moderately quick and the left-armer purchased extra bounce.
His three-wicket burst bottle-necked CSK, who mustered only 37 runs in the Powerplay. Eventually, it took Kartik Sharma’s 71 from 44 balls, a knock that breathed the freshness of youth and the wits of an old-timer, to resuscitate them. He protected his wicket and ventured for strokes judiciously.
He waited for the gift balls; when left-arm spinner Shahbaz Ahmed faltered on the shorter side, he pummelled him over deep mid-wicket. When Mayank Yadav bowled one too full, he fleeced him through extra cover. Prince Yadav’s directionless pace offered chances; Kartik scythed him for successive leg-side sixes. He effortlessly lined up Shahbaz Ahmed—plundering 29 runs from 14 balls. A more furious knock, though, would render his valiance futile.
Brief Score: CSK 187/5 in 20 overs (Kartik Sharma 71, Shivam Dube 32 not out; Akash 3/26) lost to LSG 188/3 in 16.4 overs (Marsh 90, Inglis 36, Pooran 32 not out) by seven wickets.
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Synopsis: LSG-ian Marsh mellows CSK yellows after Akash flashes notes and serves notice
Two wickets in as many balls ignited hope for Chennai Super Kings. A third too would soon fall, but the havoc that Mitchell Marsh had wreaked with his 90 from 38 balls was so irreversible that LSG, resisting all their self-implosive impulses, sauntered past the finish line. Victory would only do so much to restore their battered pride. But it imperils CSK’s playoff hopes and dents their run rate.
Marsh, the man his teammates call Bison, sneered. He had sent the first four offerings of Anshul Kamboj over the fence. But the fifth— a savage strike no less — ricocheted off the bowler’s trailing right leg in his follow-through. So ferocious the straight drive was that it landed near the cover fielder. But Marsh did not stop; he was in a merciless mood, brutalising anything his long and powerful levers could reach.
AS IT HAPPENED | LUCKNOW SUPER GIANTS VS CHENNAI SUPER KINGS IPL 2026 HIGHLIGHTS
No doubt he was venting out his frustration. He has been LSG’s shining light in a season of pitch darkness. He had tried as hard as he could to salvage their summer of discontent, only to be woefully let down by his colleagues. Thus every blow spoke of his pain in seeing his side languish at the bottom. There is no comeback route, but Marsh wouldn’t bow out quietly.
His explosion was as spontaneous as it was savage. He was just knocking the balls through the gaps, picking fours and blocking the good balls. But Kamboj’s half-tracker, the first ball of the fourth over, roused him. He dismissed the ball from his sight, as though it were his sworn enemy.
Kamboj didn’t learn. Marsh was raised on the sun-blanched bouncy decks of Perth and bowling short to him, even if well-directed, is akin to committing suicide. Kamboj’s genial pace wasn’t to perturb him either. He gift-wrapped three more half-trackers, all of which Marsh deposited in the arc between mid-wicket and deep-square leg. A fortunate dot ball later, Kamboj erred on the legside, and Marsh duly picked up a four to complete the game-defining over.
In an unimposing chase as 188, a 28-run over could literally kill the game. The carnage continued in the same high octave. Marsh blew compatriot Spencer Johnson, for a brace of fours that preceded a six. The 19-run-over pushed CSK further onto the brink of a defeat that could jeopardise their playoff hopes.
ALSO READ | What LSG’s Akash Singh said in note he held up to celebrate wickets vs CSK
An ashen-faced Ruturaj Gaikwad shuffled his bowlers, but each returned with a golden memento from Marsh. He majestically drove Gurjapneet Singh over extra cover, Marsh’s hands flowing like a stream into the stroke, his feet dancing with balletic grace. It was exhilarating batting, yet he always felt in control.
In the barrage of boundaries, it’s convenient to forget Josh Inglis. Perhaps, he knew it too. He withdrew from the limelight, limiting himself largely to singles that put Marsh back on strike. Inglis did not want to entertain the audience, but rather be entertained by Marsh’s monumental knock. In their 135-run stand, the Yorkshire-born Australian’s contributed merely 36 off 32. But he had the best seat in the arena.
Even though they departed off successive balls, the foundation was so robust that LSG wrapped full points for just the fourth time this season.
Every time Akash Singh grabbed a wicket, he would take out a piece of paper, like a scroll, from his trouser pockets and flash it towards the dressing room. The message read: “#Akkionfire – Akash knows how to take wickets in a T20 game.”
He was on fire as well as picking wickets. He slashed through the CSK top order with seam movement allied with slippery pace. He struggled to control the inward seam movement he was getting, often leaning to the batsmen’s pads, but he removed Gaikwad with a skidding hard-length ball that took the splice of the bat. The same length defeated Sanju Samson, whose endeavour to flick the ball off his hips went only as far as Mukul Choudhary prowling the square leg fence. He then defeated Urvil Patel on the pull for his third wicket. The surface was moderately quick and the left-armer purchased extra bounce.
His three-wicket burst bottle-necked CSK, who mustered only 37 runs in the Powerplay. Eventually, it took Kartik Sharma’s 71 from 44 balls, a knock that breathed the freshness of youth and the wits of an old-timer, to resuscitate them. He protected his wicket and ventured for strokes judiciously.
He waited for the gift balls; when left-arm spinner Shahbaz Ahmed faltered on the shorter side, he pummelled him over deep mid-wicket. When Mayank Yadav bowled one too full, he fleeced him through extra cover. Prince Yadav’s directionless pace offered chances; Kartik scythed him for successive leg-side sixes. He effortlessly lined up Shahbaz Ahmed—plundering 29 runs from 14 balls. A more furious knock, though, would render his valiance futile.
Brief Score: CSK 187/5 in 20 overs (Kartik Sharma 71, Shivam Dube 32 not out; Akash 3/26) lost to LSG 188/3 in 16.4 overs (Marsh 90, Inglis 36, Pooran 32 not out) by seven wickets.
