Chennai Super Kings have finally met their match! You could argue all you want about MS Dhoni not being on the team, but at the end of the day, Sunrisers Hyderabad had the last laugh, beating CSK by 6 wickets. Chennai had a superb start after winning the toss and electing to bat first. However, their middle order collapsed thanks to Rashid Khan and the defending champions couldn’t recover from the slide.
Shane Watson (31) and Faf du Plessis (45) did what they do best as openers. Shahbaz Nadeem bowled Watson at the 10th over – just before the break. Faf followed him soon as Vijay Shankar removed him. Stand-in captain Suresh Raina (13) arrived at the crease with Ambati Rayudu (25*). Raina departed as Rashid got him leg before and Kedar Jadhav replaced him. Rashid didn’t take long to remove Jadhav and the batsman couldn’t score more than a single. Khaleel Ahmed removed Sam Billings for a duck, bringing Ravindra Jadeja to the crease. Jadeja (10*) remained unbeaten as CSK’s innings ended with 132 runs on the board.
Of course, defending that paltry a total is a gargantuan task. SRH sent in their opening pair of David Warner (50) and Jonny Bairstow (61*) to start things off. The duo took the CSK bowlers to the cleaners – bolstered by the low target. Deepak Chahar managed to remove Warner just after he scored his fifty. Kane Williamson (3) failed to make a mark as Imran Tahir got his number. A brief middle order collapse ensued as Vijay Shankar (7) was removed by Tahir. Deepak Hooda (13) was picked up Karn Sharma, which led to Yusuf Pathan arriving at the crease. Pathan didn’t need to face any delivery as Bairstow finished things off.
Despite the loss, CSK remain on top of the table with 14 points in nine games. SRH improve on their standings, moving up to the fifth spot with eight points in eight games. Kolkata Knight Riders slip to six with eight points in eight games. SRH’s better net run rate helped them move ahead of KKR.
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