Ten came off the over. That puts an end to Akash Singh's superb spell. He returns with figures of 3 for 26. The left-arm pacer has rattled CSK's top order with some terrific bowling. He set a good field and then executed his plan brilliantly.

CSK 61-3 (8)

OUT! Akash Singh gets his third wicket. The pacer has dismissed Urvil Patel. Another set-up for the short ball, and yet another CSK batter perishes to it. Urvil pulled it well but found the fielder on the leg side. The young pacer gets yet another opportunity to show his chit to everyone.

Urvil Patel c Mitchell Marsh b Akash Singh 6(7) [4s-1]

CSK 52-3 (7.2)

Mayank Yadav bowls it fuller on the legs of Urvil Patel, and the right-handed batter flicks it through deep mid-wicket for a four. Mayank continues to be expensive in IPL 2026. He starts with a 14-run over.

CSK 51-2 (7)

Superb field placement and bowling from Akash Singh. He gets the wicket of Sanju Samson! It was a short ball from the left-arm pacer, cramping the batter for room. All Samson could do was pull it into the hands of deep backward square leg. Akash takes out that chit again.

Sanju Samson c Mukul Choudhary b Akash Singh 20(20) [4s-3]

CSK 37-2 (5.5)

Prince Yadav was brought into the attack, and he bowled a tight over to start with. The pacer conceded only three runs in it, keeping both the CSK batters in check. The pitch has some really good bounce, and Prince made good use of it.

CSK 34-1 (5)

Here's the first wicket for LSG! Akash Singh has dismissed Ruturaj Gaikwad! It was a good length delivery from Akash Singh. The ball hit high on the bat of Gaikwad and carried to the fielder at mid-on. Akash takes a chit out of his pocket, he shows it to the crowd to celebrate this wicket.

Ruturaj Gaikwad c Nicholas Pooran b Akash Singh 13(9) [4s-2]

CSK 31-1 (3.5)

Mohammed Shami leaked 13 in his first over but conceded only five in his second. The veteran LSG pacer had a good field set-up this time, with a man in the deep on the off side. That helped him keeping Samson away from a boundary.

CSK 22-0 (3)

Akash Maharaj Singh bowled poorly and got smashed for a four, but he made a good recovery to keep it an economical over. The left-arm pacer bowled a short ball down the leg stump on the second delivery, and Ruturaj Gaikwad pulled it away fine for a four. A total of seven runs came off the over.

CSK 20-0 (2)

4, 0, 4, 4 -Sanju Samson is off to a wonderful start here in Lucknow. He smashed Mohammed Shami for three fours in the very first over. Two were hit beautifully on the off side, while one came after Samson got an inside edge that went through fine leg.

CSK 13-0 (1)

The play begins in Lucknow. Mohammed Shami starts with a beautiful swinging delivery. That was pitched at good length and then shaped away from Sanju Samson, beating his outside edge.

Chennai Super Kings Impact Subs: Gurjapneet Singh, Akeal Hosein, Sarfaraz Khan, Matthew Short, Matt Henry.

Lucknow Super Giants Impact Subs: Josh Inglis, Manimaran Siddharth, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Himmat Singh, Ayush Badoni.

Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Sanju Samson(w), Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Urvil Patel, Kartik Sharma, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, Prashant Veer, Anshul Kamboj, Noor Ahmad, Spencer Johnson, Mukesh Choudhary

Lucknow Super Giants (Playing XI): Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran, Aiden Markram, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Mukul Choudhary, Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Mohammed Shami, Mayank Yadav, Akash Maharaj Singh, Prince Yadav

"It is a privilege to wear the yellow jersery. It is a venue where you have to bat and bowl well. There is a bit of moisture to start, but if we start well and get to 170-180 then it would be a challenging total. It is tough, you need to keep changing a lot, but it something which we cannot control but also gives an opportunity to the players, Urvil coming in, Mukesh coming in, it helps them grow and whenever we have a good squad, we deliver. It has been a must-win for a while now and we want to take it one game at a time. We have a couple of changes - Spencer Johnson makes his debut and Gurjapneet comes in for Akeal," said CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad.

"We're going to look[ing] bowl first. The wicket is looking a little bit tacky, so just did not need to go out there and bat ourselves. As a team, we have a lot to achieve. We are a team, we run on trust, and that is something we are looking forward to. I think a lot of like Akash is playing today. I think he's getting his first chance of the season. We are trying a few things for the next season for sure. And just looking to give our 200% regardless of anything," said LSG captain Rishabh Pant.

"Definitely, there is no running away from the way we have played this season. But at the same time, there is a lot of positive what we can take because, we are a little frustrated as a team because we know we have it in the team. We can make it happen and sometimes things doesn't work your way, but at the same time, no complaints from that side. We've got to still play good cricket and look to improve ourselves each and every day," he added.

"We have two more changes. Abdul Samad and Mukul also come in," Pant concluded.

Ruturaj Gaikwad calls for tails and he gets it wrong! Lucknow Super Giants captain Rishabh Pant wins the toss and opts to bowl against Chennai Super Kings in their IPL 2026 game in Lucknow tonight.

With the pressure of qualification no longer hanging over them, LSG could nevertheless prove dangerous at home, especially with the Ekana track increasingly favouring batters. CSK will also be wary of complacency against a side that now has the freedom to play without fear, and the home team will also back itself to exploit familiar conditions better than CSK.

We have the toss coming up in just five minutes from now. Stay connected!

LSG have little except pride to play for after failing to build any momentum through the season. Captain Rishabh Pant's prolonged poor form has hurt the side badly, while their bowling attack has struggled to defend totals or contain opposition batters in crucial phases, including in their first-leg game against CSK, when they failed to defend 203.

Despite frequent criticism over their lack of finishing firepower, the five-time champions have shown fight through crucial contributions from Sanju Samson, Urvil Patel, captain Ruturaj Gaikwad and a few other emerging players.

Young batter Urvil's fearless approach at the top has added much-needed momentum to CSK's powerplay scoring. Tonight, Shivam Dube, Kartik Sharma and Dewald Brevis also have key roles to play in the middle overs on a surface expected to aid stroke-making.

The bowling unit of CSK has received a big blow recently with all-rounder Jamie Overton ruled out of the remainder of IPL due to a thigh injury and returning to the UK for further assessment. This significant blow affects CSK's playoff push, marking yet another injury setback this season.

While CSK have managed to stay afloat with timely wins in the second half of the season, LSG's campaign has unravelled due to a string of ordinary performances. For Chennai, the equation remains straightforward -- win remaining matches and advance to the next round. CSK are currently placed fifth in the pecking order with six wins from 11 matches.

First things first, Chennai Super Kings veteran player and former captain MS Dhoni continues to stay on the sidelines. He had his ticket booked for Lucknow with the team, but he opted not to travel. This means the player will miss tonight's game as well.

Many must have ruled out CSK before the start of IPL 2026, but here they are, fighting hard for the playoff race. With a hat-trick of wins, Chennai find themselves in serious contention for a playoff spot. The side, which has 12 points from 11 matches, faces Lucknow Super Giants at the Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow, tonight. Stay connected for the live scores and updates.