Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) all-rounder Marcus Stoinis produced one of the finest T20 performances on Tuesday (Apr 23) to tame Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on their home turf at Chepauk. Post the Australian’s on-field heroics, LSG’s social media team shared a video where Stoinis could be seen explaining how MS Dhoni simplified his approach towards the game, especially while chasing a target.  

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Stoinis applied the advice to good effect against Dhoni’s team and helped LSG do the double over record champions within the space of a week. 

“MS Dhoni told this one thing to me. He said in big games, everyone thinks that I’ve got to do something extra. I’ve got to do something different. His mantra and how he speaks to himself is he stays there, he stands still and he says everyone else is going to change,” said Stoinis. 

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“I’m going to be the only one here that doesn’t change and that holds him ahead of everyone else.,” Stoinis said in the video,” he added.

Stoinis was the point of difference between the two teams as he soaked up the pressure after LSG lost both Quinton de Kock and KL Rahul in the powerplay. The muscular batter kept up with the asking run rate until Pooran arrived at the crease and provided the necessary impetus to the innings. 

Once the West Indian departed, Stoinis took the game by the scruff of the neck and tore into the CSK bowlers who could not deal with his brute power. Stoinis smashed 17 runs in the 20th over to chase down 211 as the likes of Mustafizur Rahman and Matheesha Pathirana were not spared either. 

Not firing as a unit: Fleming

After the game, head coach Stephen Fleming reacted to Chennai’s overall campaign so far, which has been inconsistent, and admitted that the defending champions weren’t ‘firing on all cylinders’.

“We’re not firing on all cylinders by any means but we’re in each game and we’re asking teams to play well to beat us. We just got to get a little bit better.”

The loss leaves CSK on the fifth spot, embroiled in a mid-table logjam with eight points. With 16 points ensuring a concrete playoff spot, CSK can ill afford any other slip-up, especially when the next two matches are at home. 

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