Former champions Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) rediscovered their winning form in emphatic style when they crushed five-time winners Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by six wickets in the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Friday.
Chasing a target of 165 the home side rode a breath-taking start to secure the win with 11 balls to spare.
Opener Abhishek Sharma hit a 13-ball 37 with four sixes to lay the cornerstone for the innings. He singled out Mukesh Chaudhary, playing his first game, for punishment hitting him out of the attack when taking 27 runs off one over.
Aiden Markram then weighed in with a 36-ball 50 to put the Sunrisers well on their way to victory, their second of the season that ended a two-match losing run.
CSK were suffering only their second loss in four matches.
Markram’s 60-run partnership for the second wicket with opener Travis Head (31 off 24 balls) was pivotal for the hosts. Together they built the innings cautiously, reaching 78 for one after six overs.
SRH crossed 100 runs in the ninth over with Markram hitting a giant six in the 10th over off Maheesh Theekshana.
SRH needed just 59 runs from the final 10 overs for victory with eight wickets in hand.
However, the South African batter who led SRH last season, finally fell to England spinner Moeen Ali (2/23). But there was cause for concern with Sunrished needing just 34 runs from the last five overs. Although Moeen struck again when he removed Shahbaz Ahmed (18), Heinrich Klaasen (10 not out) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (14 not out carried SRH across the line.
Earlier, Sunrisers Hyderabad’s heavy dose of pace – Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan and Pat Cummins – contained Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batters to 165 for five in their allotted 20 over.
Shivam Dube top-scored for CSK with 45 off 24 while Ajinkya Rahane played a crucial knock of 35 runs in 30 deliveries. Bhuvneshwar, T Natarajan, Pat Cummins and Jaydev Unadkat bagged one wicket each as SRH restricted CSK to a moderate total.
Brief scores:
Chennai Super Kings: 165/5 (Shivam Dube 45, Ajinkya Rahane 35; Pat Cummins 1-29) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad: 166/3 in 18.1 overs (Travis Head 31, Abhishek Sharma 37, Aiden Markram 50; Moeen Ali 2-23) by six wickets.
ALSO READ