Chennai Super Kings handed Australian left-arm paceman Spencer Johnson his debut as Ruturaj Gaikwad’s side took on Lucknow Super Giants in a crucial IPL 2026 clash in Lucknow on Friday.
Johnson replaced the injured Jamie Overton in the CSK playing XI while Gurjapneet Singh also returned to the side. There was no room for Akeal Hosein.
LSG vs CSK: UPDATE | SCORECARD
The Australian quick is returning to senior cricket after recovering from a back injury that earlier ruled him out of the T20 World Cup and Big Bash League. Johnson has not featured in competitive cricket since IPL 2025.
LSG captain Rishabh Pant won the toss and opted to bowl first on a surface he described as “sticky”. Pant suggested that the bowlers could be given some help at the start of the innings and admitted that the franchise is now looking ahead to next season after falling out of play-off contention.
“We’re going to bowl first. The wicket looks a bit tacky,” Pant said. “We’re out of the tournament so it’s about planning for the future and providing opportunities.
LSG made a few changes to their combination with Akash Singh getting his first game of the season against his former team. Abdul Samad and Mukul Choudhary also returned to the set-up.
Meanwhile, Gaikwad said CSK were happy to bat first and noted that there seemed to be some moisture on the surface. Chennai entered the competition fifth in the table with six wins from 11 matches and knew a win would propel them into the top four.
LSG, on the other hand, are at the bottom of the table with just three wins from 11 matches and can only play for pride now, along with an opportunity to spoil CSK’s playoff hopes.
Chennai Super Kings XI: Sanju Samson (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Urvil Patel, Kartik Sharma, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, Prashant Veer, Anshul Kamboj, Noor Ahmad, Spencer Johnson, Mukesh Choudhary.
Lucknow Super Giants XI: Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran, Aiden Markram, Rishabh Pant (wk/c), Mukul Choudhary, Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Mohammed Shami, Mayank Yadav, Akash Maharaj Singh, Prince Yadav.
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Issued by:
Saurabh Kumar
Published on:
15 May 2026 19:26 IST
