Lucknow, Apr 14 (PTI): Chennai Super Kings defeated Lucknow Super Giants by five wickets to break their run of losses in the Indian Premier League here on Monday.

Asked to bat first, Lucknow Super Giants scored 166 for seven. Skipper Rishabh Pant top-scored for LSG with 63 off 49 balls, while opener Mitchell Marsh made 30 in 25 deliveries.

In reply, CSK chased down the target of 167 with three balls to spare with the legendary MS Dhoni contributing a vital 26 off 11 balls after opener Rachin Ravindra made 37 in 22 balls. This was CSK's first win in their last six matches.

Shivam Dube struck an unbeaten 43 in 37 deliveries, while young debutant Shaik Rasheed impressed with a 19-ball 27.

Earlier, LSG lost two wickets in the powerplay thanks to some fine bowling by seamers Khaleel Ahmed and Anshul Kamboj, who picked up a wicket each in the first six overs.

Senior spinner Ravindra Jadeja finished with figures of 2/24 in three overs.

Brief scores:

Lucknow Super Giants: 166/7 in 20 overs (Rishabh Pant 63; Ravindra Jadeja 2/24).

Chennai Super Kings: 168/5 in 19.3 overs (Rachin Ravindra 37, MS Dhoni 26 not out, Shivam Dube 43 not out; Ravi Bishnoi 2/18).

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Patna: The opposition INDIA bloc has named Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav as the head of its coordination committee for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections.

The decision was made during a meeting of the six alliance partners – Congress, RJD, Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation (CPI(ML)), and the Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) – held in Patna on Thursday, April 17.

While the bloc stopped short of formally declaring Yadav as its chief ministerial candidate, it confirmed that he will lead the key decision-making committee for the election campaign. The committee will be responsible for drafting a common minimum programme, finalizing the manifesto, managing seat-sharing talks, and coordinating campaign strategies.

Congress’s Bihar in-charge Krishna Allavaru, speaking at a joint press conference after the meeting, said, “The coordination committee will be the supreme body for the INDIA alliance, overseeing every aspect of the election. Tejashwi Yadav will be its chairman, and members from all alliance partners will be included.”

The meeting followed Yadav’s recent discussions in Delhi with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi.

Addressing the media after the Patna meeting, Yadav said, “There is deep resentment among the people of Bihar due to unemployment, poverty, and increasing migration. Even the NITI Aayog’s report confirms Bihar as the poorest state despite 20 years of rule under the NDA.”

He further criticized both Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and the central government, stating, “The real double engine in Bihar is crime and corruption.”

In the 2020 Assembly elections, the RJD emerged as the single largest party with 75 seats, while Congress won 19 of the 70 it contested. The CPI(ML) secured 12 of 19 seats, and the VIP, despite exiting the alliance before the elections, won four seats.

The INDIA bloc is now preparing to mount a consolidated challenge to the ruling NDA in the upcoming state polls.