Marsh powers Lucknow to victory over Chennai; Kohli reiterates commitment to 2027 World Cup

Australian opener Mitchell Marsh missed out on a second IPL century in three innings, though his brutal 90 was the foundation around which Lucknow Super Giants eked out a seven-wicket victory over Chennai Super Kings on Friday.

Marsh, who had lashed 111 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru last Thursday, hammered nine fours and seven sixes in his 38-ball blitz in Lucknow as the home side made light of Chennai’s 187-5, built around a fluent 71 by Kartik Sharma and a grandstand finish from Shivam Dube, whose unbeaten 32 came off 16 deliveries.

Chennai, whose late surge after a poor start netted them three consecutive victories coming into this fixture, must have fancied their chances on a surface that offered considerable bounce and was superbly exploited by Lucknow left-arm quick Akash Singh.

The 24-year-old Akash, playing his first game of the season, winkled out Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sanju Samson and Urvil Patel during an unchanged four-over new-ball burst of three for 26 before Kartik and Dube hauled the five-time former champions to what seemed to be a challenging total.

Marsh, however, made it appear positively miniscule with a breathtaking onslaught.

The Australian T20 skipper got the chase underway with two fours in the first over, from Mukesh Choudhary, before using his trademark power to brazen effect.

He unloaded a series of bruising pulls while fellow Australian and opener Josh Inglis was largely content to watch the entertainment from the best seat in the ground.

Marsh was particularly severe on Anshul Kamboj, Chennai’s leading wicket-taker who was smashed for four sixes and a four in the fifth over.

With their best bowler neutralised, Chennai caved in, their designs of breaking into the top four for the first time since the tournament began emphatically dashed. Inglis and Marsh raced to an opening alliance of 135 in just 70 deliveries when, against the run of play, the former was caught in the deep off Choudhary. One brought two when Marsh was dismissed next ball. New batter Nicholas Pooran’s straight drive was deflected on to the stumps at the non-striker’s end by the bowler with Marsh, backing up, well short of his ground, 10 short of a third IPL hundred.

Lucknow, already eliminated from the play-off race, weren’t to be denied as Pooran applied the finishing touches.

Meanwhile, talismanic India batter Virat Kohli has reaffirmed his commitment to feature in the 2027 Men’s ODI World Cup, saying he continues to prepare with the same zeal and discipline to play cricket and that being in a mega event will be an amazing prospect.

“We’re in mid-2026. I have been asked many times, ‘Do you want to play in 2027?’ Why would I leave home, get my stuff over and be like ‘I don’t know what I want’. Of course, if I’m playing, I want to play cricket, I want to carry on. Playing a World Cup for India is amazing,” said Kohli in an episode of the RCB podcast released on Friday.

Despite retiring from T20Is in 2024 and Test cricket in 2025, Kohli remains a vital figure in India’s ODI setup. With 54 centuries and 14,797 runs in the format, Kohli is the second-highest run-getter in ODIs and has already featured in four World Cups, including the victorious 2011 campaign on home soil.

“Today, my perspective is very clear. If I can add value to the environment that I’m a part of and the environment feels like I can add value, I’ll be seen. If I’m made to feel like I need to prove my worth and my value, I’m not in that space. Because I’m being honest with my preparation. I’m being honest to how I approach the game. I put my head down. I work hard.

“I’m very thankful to god for giving me everything that I’ve been given in my cricketing career. I feel very blessed and grateful for the opportunity. And when I arrive to play, I put my head down, I work as hard, if not harder, than anyone else. And I play the game the right way. You want me to run from boundary to boundary for 40 overs in an ODI game, I will do that without a complaint. Because I prepare accordingly.”

Agencies