Marsh blasts 90 off 38 as LSG hammer CSK by seven wickets at Ekana
Mitchell Marsh teed off from the first ball at Ekana, and by the time he was run out for 90 off 38, Lucknow Super Giants had effectively buried Chennai Super Kings' playoff push. LSG chased down 188 with seven wickets and 20 balls in hand, leaving CSK stranded on 12 points with two games to play and a net run rate that no longer hides them.
Marsh and Josh Inglis set the tone. The pair flayed Anshul Kamboj for 63 off 2.4 overs and walked off after the powerplay with 86 on the board for no loss. Marsh got there off 21 balls, and by the time Mukesh Choudhary deflected a Nicholas Pooran straight drive onto the stumps with Marsh backing up at the non-striker's end, the cameo was 90 from 38 (nine fours, seven sixes, strike rate 236) and the chase was already over as a contest.
Akash Singh tears the top order out
The platform for the win was set hours earlier with the new ball. Akash Singh removed Sanju Samson, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Urvil Patel inside the powerplay, finishing with 3 for 26 off his four overs and leaving CSK's replacement opening trio with nothing to defend. Kartik Sharma's 71 off 42 (six fours, five sixes) and Shivam Dube's unbeaten 32 off 16 dragged the total to 187 for 5, but it was the kind of recovery score that has become CSK's IPL 2026 problem: respectable, never imposing.
CSK's playoff math is now ugly
The numbers are unflattering. CSK sit sixth on 12 points after 12 games, level with fifth-placed Rajasthan Royals who have played one fewer, and stuck with a net run rate of +0.027 against RCB's +1.053, GT's +0.551 and PBKS's +0.355 above them. Two wins from two probably gets them to 16, and even then the NRR pile-up means the top four would have to oblige. Lucknow, who can't reach the playoffs themselves from eight points and two games left, can at least leave the season having ended someone else's run. Nicholas Pooran's unbeaten 32 off 17 sealed it inside 17 overs.
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