On the back of Aiden Markram's well-compiled half-century, Abhishek Sharma's belligerent cameo and a stifling bowling performance from the bowlers, the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) defeated Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by six wickets. The Indian Premier League (IPL) match between the SRH and CSK played at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad saw the Sunrisers chase down the target of 166 runs with 11 balls to spare.
With the win, the Orange Army registered their second win of the tournament while handing the Super Kings their second defeat of the competition.
Abhishek Sharma unleashes hell on CSK bowlers
Chasing a target of 166 runs, the Sunrisers received a fabulous start as opener Abhishek Sharma came out firing on all cylinders. The left-handed batter smoked four sixes and three fours in his 37-run knock of 12 balls. Abhishek departed after registering a 46-run stand in 16 balls with Travis Head (31 runs off 24 balls).
SRH made a mockery of CSK's score as the Orange Army scored 78 runs in the first six overs. Former captain Aiden Markram played a solid knock of 50 runs off 36 balls with the help of four fours and a six.
From overs 10 to 15, the SRH batters found it difficult to score runs freely as the pitch slowed down considerably and CSK spinners bowled well in tandem. But such was Abhishek Sharma's cameo that the Sunrisers were never really under any sort of pressure during their run chase.
Shahbaz Ahmed chipped in with a knock of 18 runs off 19 balls before being dismissed by Moeen Ali.
Heinrich Klaasen (10 not out off 11 balls) and Nitish Reddy (14 not out off eight balls) guided the Sunrisers to the promised land.
For the Super Kings, Ali bagged 2 wickets in three overs and conceded 23 runs. Deepak Chahar and Maheesh Theekshana chipped in with a wicket each.
CSK was stifled by SRH bowlers
At a venue that witnessed the Sunrisers torment Mumbai Indians and script the highest score in IPL history, the Chennai Super Kings batter found it extremely hard to time the ball. After being asked to bat first, CSK lost Rachin Ravindra fairly early as the Kiwi batter departed after scoring 12 runs off nine balls. Captain Ruturaj Gaikwad (26 runs off 21 balls) and Ajinkya Rahane (35 runs off 30 balls) failed to convert their starts into a big knock.
Shivam Dube sizzled in the middle overs and played an attractive cameo of 45 runs off 24 balls with the help of two fours and four sixes.
Once Pat Cummins dismissed the power-hitter, CSK's innings hit a roadblock as Ravindra Jadeja (31 not out off 23 balls) and Daryl Mitchell (13 runs off 11 balls). MS Dhoni walked to bat in the end and faced just two balls. The former CSK captain remained unbeaten on one run off two balls. In their 20 overs, CSK hobbled to a score of 165/5 in 20 overs.
For the Sunrisers, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan, Cummins, Shahbaz Ahmed and Jaydev Unadkat bagged a wicket each.
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