LSG vs CSK Hits and Flops: The Lucknow Super Giants gave a massive blow to the Chennai Super Kings; playoff chances with a massive victory over the five-time champions. But what were the hits and flops in this LSG vs CSK game?
Today’s LSG vs CSK game was Match 59 of IPL 2026. It was played at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow, with the home team winning the toss and deciding to bowl first.
The Super Kings got off to a poor start, losing two massive wickets in the powerplay. And while the first half of their innings was not good for them, the middle order rallied in the second half and took the team to a respectable score of 187/5 in 20 overs. Kartik Sharma was the star of the show with his 71 off 42
In response, LSG had a 135-run opening stand. Mitchell Marsh scored a quickfire 38-ball 90, and Nicholas Pooran finished it off with four sixes in a row. The Super Giants wont he match by seven wickets and with 20 balls remaining.
Today, we will discuss three hits and flops from the LSG vs CSK game in IPL 2026, Match 59.
Three Hits And Flops From LSG Vs CSK Match
Hits
1. Mitchell Marsh
IPL 2026 has been full of explosive innings and massive totals. So it is even more impressive that Mitchell Marsh played one of the quickest and most aggressive innings seen this season.
The Lucknow Super Giants batter has been his team’s highest run scorer this season. He has made 467 runs in 12 matches this season at an average of 38.91 and a strike rate of 162.15. A couple of games ago, he even scored a century against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. And tonight, he almost scored another one.
The opening duo of Marsh and Josh Inglis gave Lucknow a solid start in this game. Inglis scored three boundaries in the very first over, in which 15 runs were made. By the end of the fourth over, Marsh was batting at 14 off 13, which made what came next even more thrilling.
The fifth over, bowled by Anshul Kamboj, saw the Aussie score a six on the first ball, then one more on the second, another one on the third, and a final one on the fourth. After four sixes in four balls, he hit a boundary on the last ball of the over as 28 runs came off the fifth.
Marsh then hit two boundaries and a six on the last three balls of the sixth over, bringing up his half-century in 21 balls.
At this point, the 34-year-old was dominating this opening partnership. He hit a six in the seventh over, then a boundary and a maximum in the eighth. By the end of that over, he was batting at 75 off 29.
He kept up the aggression, and by the end of the 10th over, the score had already run up to 124 runs with no wickets lost.
In the 12th over, Josh Inglis got out for 26 off 32, having played a supporting role in a 135-run partnership. Then, on the next ball, Marsh was run out. A lucky breakthrough for the Chennai Super Kings, which would not end up being enough for them.
Mitchell Marsh scored 90 off 38 before getting out unceremoniously. It is safe to say that he most likely would have scored his second century of IPL 2026 tonight if he had not been run out.
Check Out: LSG Vs CSK Match 59.
2. Kartik Sharma
Kartik Sharma came in to bat at No. 4 for the Chennai Super Kings tonight. The 20-year-old was bought for Rs 14.20 crore ahead of IPL 2026, seemingly for his sheer ability to hit a cricket ball out of the park. He has been in and out of the team this season. While he did hit a half-century, that came in a low-scoring game where Sharma scored slowly.
However, his innings tonight were a display of what he can bring to any team at the highest level.
Kartik came in to bat in the sixth over of the first innings. By this time, both the openers had departed, and Urvil Patel stood at the other end. The two batted together for about 10 balls before Urvil departed in the eighth over.
At No. 5 came in Dewald Brevis, who hit a six on the first ball he played. But the next few overs weren’t too happening. The two batters rotated the strike around and hit the occasional boundary. By the end of the 10th over, the score was 71/3.
In the 11th over, Sharma hit a four and Brevis hit a maximum. Kartik then hit a boundary in the 12th over and ended the 13th with two sixes.
Soon enough, the youngster had reached his half-century with a maximum in the 15th over, reaching the milestone in 35 balls. Later in that over, Brevis was out for 25 off 16.
After the fourth wicket fell, Sharma picked the pace up. Between the wicket of Dewald Brevis in the 15th over and that of Kartik Sharma in the 16th over, the 20-year-old played six deliveries. He hit a four on the first, a six on the second, and four on the third and the fourth. Then followed a dot ball and the delivery he got out to.
Sharma was dismissed at the end of the 16th over by Shahbaz Ahmed, caught at long-on while trying to clear the boundary. He made 71 off 42 before he got out.
3. Akash Singh And His Note
Left-arm pacer Akash Singh from Bharatpur, Rajasthan, has been in the IPL since 2021. He has only played sporadically in his career. Tonight was his first game of the season, and he was undoubtedly the best-performing bowler in the match across both teams.
The 24-year-old opened the bowling alongside Mohammed Shami. He bowled the second over of the first inning and conceded only seven runs against big-name batters like Sanju Samson and Ruturaj Gaikwad.
He was handed the ball again to bowl the fourth over. In this over, he dismissed opposition captain Gaikwad. On the fifth ball of the over, after a boundary was hit on the fourth, Singh bowled a quick short ball, which was pulled and mistimed by Ruturaj. He was caught at mid-on for 13 off nine. In that over, he also gave away just six runs.
After taking the wicket, the youngster took out a note from his pocket, which read, “#Akki on fire – Akash knows how to take wickets in T20 game.” While the source of this message is still unknown, “Akkionfire” is Akash Singh’s social media handle.
Akash bowled his third over in the powerplay, which was also the last one with fielding restrictions. On the third ball of the over, he bowled into the wickets. Sanju looked to flick the ball to the boundary. Instead, he was caught at deep square-leg for a run-a-ball 20. Once again, the note came out of the bowler’s pocket. Only three runs came off that over.
Akash Singh bowled his fourth and final over immediately after the eighth. On the second ball of this over, he bowled short, which was pulled by Urvil Patel, who was caught at deep mid-wicket.
In four overs, Akash Singh dismantled the CSK top order, taking three wickets on his season debut and conceding just 26 runs at an economy of 6.5.
Check Out: LSG Vs CSK Match 59.
Flops
1. CSK Top Order
The Chennai Super Kings were put to bat first on this pitch that was not completely flat but still did not give the bowlers a lot. They needed to put up a massive score if they were to win this game. And for that to happen, their top order needed to fire. That did not happen tonight.
Like always, the duo of wicketkeeper/batter Sanju Samson and team captain Ruturaj Gaikwad opened the batting for CSK. While Sanju has not been consistent, he has been the Super Kings’ highest run scorer this season and has scored two centuries. On the other hand, IPL 2026 has not been Ruturaj’s best season in the league.
In the first over of the match, bowled by Mohammed Shami, Samson gave his team a cracking start, hitting three boundaries in the over. Then, in the next over, Gaikwad scored his first four.
Things started slowing down from the third over, where only five runs were scored. Meanwhile, in the fourth, after Ruturaj Gaikwad scored a boundary, he was dismissed on the very next ball.
Gaikwad pulled a quick length ball by Akash Singh. The ball kissed the top edge and was caught at mid-on as the skipper was out for 13 off nine.
The next over was an underwhelming one as well, as only three runs came off it. Then, in the final over of the powerplay, Sanju Samson became Akash’s second wicket. It was a back-of-length delivery, which Samson looked to flick. The ball was caught at deep square-leg as the wicketkeeper was out for a run-a-ball 20.
The in-form Urvil Patel came in at No. 3. After a remarkable innings in his last game, a lot was expected of him. However, the Gujarati batter did not live up to the billing tonight, as he was dismissed in the eighth over for six off seven. Yet another pull, and this time a catch at mid-wicket.
Because of the poor performance by the CSK top-order, the team made just 37 runs in the powerplay and were reeling at 71/3 at the end of 10. While they did recover a bit in the latter half of their innings, a sub-200 score was never going to be enough on this track.
2. Anshul Kamboj
Anshul Kamboj has been CSK’s most effective bowler this season. He has taken the most wickets for the franchise this season and currently stands third in the Purple Cap standings with 19 scalps in 12 games, just behind the giants of the sport like Kagiso Rabada and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
For Chennai to defend a total like 187/5, they needed their highest wicket-taker to do his magic tonight and send some LSG batters back to the pavilion. Not only did he do that, but he also bowled what was statistically the worst over in a T20 game.
Kamboj came into the attack in the third over. On his first ball, he was hit for a four by Josh Inglis and for one by Mitchell Marsh on the third. But all in all, it wasn’t the worst over ever, as only 11 runs came off it. His next over, however, was something else entirely.
Anshul returned to bowl the fifth over of the Lucknow innings. On the first ball, he was hit for a six by Marsh over covers. The next ball was another six, this one over mid-wicket.
The third ball went for a six once again. A length ball was dispatched from over square leg to complete a hat-trick of sixes. Then, on the fourth ball, yet another maximum, making it four-in-a-row. This is another pull-over square leg.
With 24 runs coming off four balls, Anshul Kamboj must have been panicking. But the next delivery was hit straight at him, hitting his shoe and going for no runs. Having been saved from embarrassment, Kamboj hit a four on the final ball to make it 28 runs from his second over.
Naturally, Anshul was taken off the attack. He would not return till the 17th over, by which time the match was all but over, with 24 runs needed in four overs. But also, by this time, Kamboj’s tormentor, Mitchell Marsh, was also out, and Nicholas Pooran was on strike.
The West Indies batter, who had found some form in recent games, was not going to miss the opportunity of a hint. Kamboj only got to bowl four balls in his over, all of which were hit for a six by Pooran. The first of which went over 100 metres. The match was over with 20 deliveries remaining.
Anshul Kamboj broke an unwanted record tonight. In the 2.4 overs he bowled, he conceded 63 runs at an economy of 23.63. This is the highest-ever economy rate for a bowler in a T20 match with at least two overs bowled. The record was previously held by Musa Jobarteh of The Gambia against Zimbabwe in a World Cup qualifier in October 2024.
3. Prince Yadav
While the Lucknow Super Giants won this game comfortably, and their bowling attack did well, it does not mean that they clicked on all cylinders tonight.
Prince Yadav has been LSG’s most efficient bowler this season. In a team that has otherwise underperformed in IPL 2026, the pacer from Delhi has taken 16 wickets in 12 matches and has an economy of under nine. He currently sits fifth in the Purple Cap standings. However, he was not at his best in this game.
Yadav did not come into the attack until the fifth over. And taking advantage of the movement the pacers got from the pitch early on, he bowled a solid over and conceded only three runs.
He was then taken off the attack and returned in the 13th, where he was hit for a couple of sixes by Kartik Sharma and gave away 16 runs. His sporadic spell would see Prince bowl his third in the 17th over. This one was much better. While he did bowl two wides, he also conceded just seven runs in his third over.
The 24-year-old only returned to bowl the final over of the innings, where he was taken to the cleaners. After only three runs came off the first two balls, Shivam Dube hit a six off the third. A boundary came on the fourth ball and then again on the fifth before a six to finish off the innings.
Prince Yadav conceded 23 runs in his final over. His four-over spell saw him take no wickets and leak 49 runs at an economy of 12.25.
Check Out: Three Hits And Flops
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