A clinical chase by Sunrisers Hyderabad propelled by Abhishek Sharma’s brilliant innings assured them of a clinical eight-wicket win to register their first points in the table while Chennai Super Kings lost their fourth match in a row in Indian Premier League 2022.
It was a familiar story for CSK whose batters struggled to get their rhythm going and ended up losing both their openers within the powerplay. After Robin Uthappa (15) and Ruturaj Gaikwad (16) fell early, there was some hope as Moeen Ali and Ambati Rayudu decided to steady the ship.
However, Rayudu looked scratchy in his 27-run stay in as many deliveries and Moeen (48), who seemed to be timing the ball relatively well, also succumbed to bowling change involving Aiden Markram. The innings did not progress significantly as quick dismissals of Shivam Dube (3) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (3) followed.
Ravindra Jadeja tonked a few towards the end to score 23 off 15 in an attempt to give CSK a big finish before he holed out to Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the final over.
Washington Sundar and T Natarajan, who bagged two wickets apiece, were the pick the pick of the bowlers in the SRH camp and were aided by Markram, Bhuvneshwar and Marco Jansen with a wicket to contribute for each.
Hyderabad’s bowling effort proved to be enough as they put the brakes on the CSK innings at 154/7.
In reply, the SRH opening duo of Abhishek Sharma and captain Kane Williamson (32) were off to a cautious start having scored merely 24 off the first five overs. However, Abhishek soon found his rhythm after the powerplay and carried the innings forward with his first half-century.
Kane Williamson was happy to play second fiddle in what was a rather out-of-tune innings at the other end before he was dismissed by Mukesh Choudhary in the 12th over.
Abhishek then teamed up with Rahul Tripathi to stitch a 50-run partnership for the second wicket. Although the 21-year-old Abhishek was dismissed for 75 by Dwayne Bravo, the chase was bought to a smooth end by Tripathi with a 15-ball 39.
