Chennai Super Kings beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 4 runs

The contest between the Chennai Super Kings and the Sunrisers Hyderabad turned out to be a thriller as the game went till the final ball. The visitors were pushed to the back-foot early, but some lusty hitting by their middle order helped them post a daunting target. SRH stuttered early on but the likes of Kane Williamson and Yusuf Pathan kept them in the game, but CSK emerged triumphant by four wickets and moved to the top of the table.

The conditions were overcast and hence, Kane Williamson elected to field first and the decision didn’t backfire as Shane Watson nipped Shane Watson out with a slower delivery, which gripped the surface. Thereafter, Rashid Khan picked up Faf du Plessis, who replaced his South African teammate in Imran Tahir. The onus was on Ambati Rayudu and Suresh Raina to resurrect the derailed start.

To the delight of the visitors, the sun made its presence felt and the CSK batsman made hay by peppering the boundaries. While Raina played the sheet anchor’s role, Rayudu unleashed his strokes, which kept the scoreboard moving. The stand was eventually broken by a shambolic run-out as Rayudu searched for an unavailable single. Towards the end, MS Dhoni played a cameo which helped CSK post a competitive 182 runs on board.

Chasing the target, the Sunrisers Hyderabad lost the wickets of Ricky Bhui, Manish Pandey and Deepak Hooda in quick succession as Deepak Chahar wreaked havoc with the new ball. Shakib Al Hasan joined his skipper in the middle and played some glorious strokes, but his innings was cut short by Karn Sharma. On the other hand, Williamson played with expertise and kept the home team in the game.

However, he was dismissed courtesy a brilliant catch by Ravindra Jadeja from long on. Yusuf Pathan smacked some after a lacklustre start, which kept them in the contest, but his dismissal made CSK the firm favourites. Rashid hit three boundaries off successive deliveries, which reignited SRH’s hope to win, but Bravo held his nerves and defended six runs off the final ball.