Finally, Chennai Super Kings looked like a solid team in this edition of IPL. They gave a solid performance in batting and bowling which resulted in a 20-run victory against Sunrisers Hyderabad. While Shane Watson (42) and Ambati Rayudu (41) shined on the batting side, it was DJ Bravo and Karn Sharma who played well on the bowling front. For Sunrisers, except Kane Williamson (57), no one stood up to the occasion and failed to chase the target.
MS Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat first. This time, CSK sent Sam Curran up the order as he opened the innings with Faf du Plessis. The idea worked as Curran gave a blistering start to the team. However, Faf shocked everyone by getting out for a golden duck. SRH also managed to send back Curran in powerplay itself. Then, Ambati Rayudu and Shane Watson settled the innings for Chennai. They took time and played shots only on loose balls. After making an 81-run partnership, Rayudu got out in Khaleel’s bowling. In the very next over, Natarajan dismissed Watson. Later, Dhoni and Jadeja played good cameos and gave CSK a defendable total of 167.
Sunrisers was never in this chase right from the beginning. They lost opener David Warner’s wicket pretty early in the innings. Manish Pandey got run-out in the very same over of Warner’s dismissal. That was a huge blow for Hyderabad. After that, no batsman stood up to the occasion, except Kane Williamson. However, it was too much for him in the end. He tried his best and fell in the 18th over. Then, Hyderabad’s loss was certain. Finally, they managed to score 147/8 in 20 overs.
Scorecard:
Chennai Super Kings: 167/6 (S Watson 42, A Rayudu 41, S Sharma 2/19)
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 147/8 (K Williamson 57, J Bairstow 23, DJ Bravo 2/25)