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Sunrisers Hyderabad 166 for 4 (Markram 50, Abhishek 37, Moeen 2-23) beat Chennai Super Kings 165 for 5 (Dube 45, Rahane 35) by 6 wickets (with 11 balls remaining)
Hyderabad: Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) won by six wickets against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in their TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 match at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
When compared to the previous match in Hyderabad that witnessed an IPL record, this match had more for the bowlers – resulting in a good contest between the two departments overall.
Chasing 166, SRH began in explosive fashion with Abhishek Sharma taking the attack to the bowlers.
It was almost as if he started from where he left off during the innings against Mumbai Indians (MI) last week.
The 12-ball 37 was an entertaining knock that featured three fours and four sixes. He flicked and pull with panache – a shot that stood out was a flick over mid-wicket that sailed all the way.
The entertaining knock ended in the third over when he found Ravindra Jadeja at point off Deepak Chahar.
At the other end, Travis Head had a life early on when he edged one to first slip but was put down by Moeen Ali in the first over.
Head had the best seat in the house when Abhishek dazzled the Hyderabad crowd.
The last ball of the first over was smashed for a six.
Post Abhishek’s dismissal, Head continued in a positive vein alongside Aiden Markram to take SRH to 78 for one at the end of the Powerplay.
SRH’s run-chase was then anchored by Makram, who got to his fifty off 35 balls.
Travis Head was ultimately dismissed for 31, while trying to sweep in the 10th over.
However, the home side had the required rate under control, and they weren’t under any pressure.
Shahbaz Ahmed was sent in at No. 4 and he, in tandem with Markram, kept knocking it around. Markram was dismissed for 50 when he tried to reverse sweep Moeen.
As SRH got closer to the total, CSK made it a little tougher for them, with Moeen dismissing Shahbaz, who attempted a reverse sweep and was found leg-before on review.
Heinrich Klaasen and Nitish Reddy kept their cool and ensured SRH got home with 11 balls to spare.
Nitish finished off in style with a six down the ground to seal the deal.
SRH’s attempt at attacking the new ball paid rich dividends, as it became clear later on that batting wasn’t all that easy as the ball got older.
Earlier in the day, Pat Cummins won the toss and invited CSK to bat.
Cummins’s decision was backed by his bowlers, who performed well as a unit and restricted a dangerous CSK batting unit to 165.
At one stage, it looked like CSK would get past 180 but some disciplined bowling in the last 10 overs ensured that the SRH batters didn’t have a huge total to chase.
Rachin Ravindra was dismissed early when trying to clear the infield. Ruturaj Gaikwad (26) played a few typically classy shots but as he was set, Shahbaz had him caught in the deep.
Ajinkya Rahane (35) delivered a steady performance and that allowed Shivam Dube to come in and play his shots.
However, Cummins had Dube caught at point in the 14th over. A few balls later, Jaydev Unadkat got the better of Ajinkya Rahane. At the end of 15 overs, CSK were 127 for four.
In the last four overs, SRH bowlers kept it tight and did not let the CSK batters get away.
Ravindra Jadeja’s 23-ball 31 not out was critical in getting CSK past 160. SRH used slower balls to good effect to restrict the CSK batting in the slog overs.
The fast bowling department in particular was effective, with every pacer picking a wicket each.
Cummins and Unadkat finished with identical figures of one for 29, and Bhuvneshwar contributed with one for 28.
