India, May 16 -- The road for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 playoffs has become all the more difficult for the five-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) after losing to the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Ekana on Friday. The Ruturaj Gaikwad-led side entered the contest as firm favourites, considering they were playing against the bottom-ranked side. Still, it wasn't meant to be as Mitchell Marsh (90), Josh Inglis (36) and Nicholas Pooran (32*) made light work of the 188-run chase, and LSG eventually cruised home with seven wickets in hand and 20 balls to spare.

With the loss against the Rishabh Pant-led side, CSK remain static at the fifth position with 12 points from 12 matches. As a result of this defeat, the franchise ca...