The clash between Lucknow SuperGiants (LSG) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the Ekana Cricket Stadium has ignited a fierce debate over the tactics employed by the home team. Especially, its choice of bowlers in the death overs has come under scrutiny.

With CSK needing 56 runs off the last five overs, LSG captain Rishabh Pant went with Shardul Thakur and Avesh Khan instead of giving Ravi Bishnoi his fourth over — a decision that didn't work as an otherwise unimpressive CSK managed to chase down the target with three balls to spare.

On the night, Bishnoi was impressive in his three overs, registering figures of 2/18 and dismissing key players Rahul Tripathi and Ravindra Jadeja. Nine of his 18 balls were dot deliveries, and his variations had kept the CSK batters in check. Bishnoi's chances against MS Dhoni looked favourable, with the batter striking at just 94.23 against spin since IPL 2020. Other captains in this IPL season have also opted for spinners against Dhoni as he has not been able to hit the big shots against them. But Pant's decision may have been impelled by the fact that Shivam Dube, who was the other batsman, has a mighty record against spinners.

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Avesh, who bowled the 16th, went for 12 runs in dewy conditions. Shardul Thakur, in his last two overs, leaked 32 runs, including a 19-run penultimate over. His inability to maintain line and length under pressure tilted the game heavily towards his former franchise CSK. 

In the post-match press conference was quoted  as saying, Bishnoi defended his captain's decision, stating, "I didn't really talk [to Pant] about it, but I went to the wicket a couple of times and I think he had plans in place he wanted to execute. In such situations, the captain is better placed and he keeps wicket too, so he understands things better. According to me, he took the decision he thought was better." 

Pant himself revealed that the decision stemmed from a desire to take the game deeper, stating, "We discussed it with a lot of players and just couldn't let him [Bishnoi] bowl. We thought we were going to take it deeper, and that just didn't happen for us today." 

It is in these borderline decisions that the fate of a match rests. And that is the beauty and allure of T20s.

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