New Delhi, May 16 (IANS) Former South Africa wicketkeeper-batter Mark Boucher described Mitchell Marsh’s innings against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) as a ‘masterclass’ and said the conditions at the Ekana Stadium perfectly suited the Australian batters in Lucknow Super Giants

Marsh smashed a stunning 90 off just 38 balls, while Josh Inglis added 36 as LSG chased down 188 in only 16.4 overs to register a dominant seven-wicket victory.

“It was an absolute masterclass. Both Josh Inglis and Mitchell Marsh said that the wicket reminded them of Perth. How many boundaries were hit square of the wicket? Marsh knew the bowlers were going to bowl back of a length because that’s what had worked for the LSG bowlers earlier,” Boucher told Jio Hotstar.

Boucher said Marsh used the pace and bounce of the pitch brilliantly and looked completely comfortable throughout his innings.

“He was using the pace and knows how to bat in these conditions,” he said.

The former South African star also suggested that LSG should continue preparing similar surfaces at home because their squad is well suited for such conditions.

“And maybe, considering how the surface played, this is the future for LSG. They need to play on these kinds of wickets,” Boucher said.

“They have fast bowlers who can bowl effectively on such surfaces and extract something from them, and they also have batters who thrive in bouncy conditions, Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, and Josh Inglis. It could stand them in good stead for next season as well,” he added.

Earlier, CSK posted 187/5 after fighting knocks from Kartik Sharma (71) and Shivam Dube (32 not out), while Akash Singh starred with the ball for LSG with figures of 3-26.

But Marsh’s explosive knock and the 135-run opening stand with Inglis completely took the game away from CSK and badly hurt their playoff hopes.

–IANS

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