Summary of this article
Kartik Sharma shines for CSK with a scintillating 71-run knock off 42 balls
He was brought for a whopping INR 14.20 crore by CSK in the auction
CSK posted a decent 188-run target to LSG in Lucknow
Kartik Sharma, who earlier showed glimpses of his talent finally came into his own in for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and slammed a blistering 71 off just 42 balls against Lucknow Super Giants in a crucial match at the Ekana Stadium on Friday, May 15.
The 19-year-old Rajasthan batter smashed six fours and five sixes during the course of his innings. He came into bat when CSK were struggling at 36/2 in 5.3 overs and later forged a crucial 70-run stand with Dewald Brevis for the 4th wicket to take his team from 52/3 to 122/3.
He was bought by CSK for a whopping INR 14.20 crore in the auction but was unable to justify his price tag until now, as it could be a match-defining knock on a tricky wicket at such a crucial juncture of the tournament.
Kartik, along with Brevis, provided the much-needed impetus to CSK's innings in the middle overs, and once he got out in the 16th over, Shivam Dube took it from there to smash an unbeaten 32 runs off just 16 balls to take CSK to a solid score of 187/5 on a double-paced track.
Akash Singh Rattles CSK's Top-Order
LSG are already eliminated from the tournament, which allowed them to try young players for the next season, and their experiment worked today as the new inductee, Akash Singh, impressed by picking three key wickets of CSK.
He first sent CSK skipper, Ruturaj Gaikwad, off a short delivery, followed by it getting Sanju Samson trapped at the deep square leg boundary.
Urvil Patel, who smacked a 13-ball fifty against LSG in their last match, turned out to be the third wicket of the night for Akash Singh. He finished the innings with an impressive figure of 4-26-3 in his first match of the tournament.
