IPL Hyderabad/UNI: Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) emerged victorious by six wickets against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL 2024 match at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here on Friday.
Chasing a target of 166 runs, SRH started aggressively, particularly with Abhishek Sharma taking charge against the CSK bowlers.
Sharma's brisk innings of 37 runs off just 12 balls, including three boundaries and four sixes, set the tone for SRH's chase. However, his dismissal in the third over marked the end of his entertaining knock.
Travis Head, along with Aiden Markram, then steadied the innings, with Markram eventually reaching his fifty off 35 balls. Head contributed 31 runs before being dismissed in the 10th over. Despite some setbacks, SRH maintained control over the required run rate throughout their innings.
Aiden Makram's departure for 50 and the subsequent dismissal of Shahbaz Ahmed added a bit of tension to the chase, but Heinrich Klaasen and Nitish Reddy ensured SRH reached the target comfortably with 11 balls to spare. Reddy's six down the ground sealed the victory for SRH.
Earlier in the day, CSK ended with a modest total of 165 for 5 after they were sent into bat first by SRH.
Shivam Dube showed good form, scoring 45 runs off 24 balls, while Ajinkya Rahane contributed 35 runs off 30 balls. Their partnership of 65 runs for the third wicket was the highlight of the CSK innings.
However, the team only managed to add 37 runs in the last five overs, which could be a crucial factor in the match.
Ravindra Jadeja played a crucial role for CSK with an unbeaten 31 off 23 balls towards the end of the innings, providing the necessary impetus. Former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni remained not out on one run from two balls.
SRH's bowling effort was commendable, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Pat Cummins, T Natarajan, Shahbaz Ahmed, and Jaydev Unadkat each taking a wicket.
CSK had a decent start but lost momentum as the innings progressed. Bhuvneshwar Kumar claimed the first wicket of the season for SRH by dismissing Rachin Ravindra. Rahane and Ruturaj Gaikwad added some runs, but the introduction of spin by Shahbaz Ahmed led to Gaikwad's dismissal.
Rahane struggled to find fluency in his stroke play against the slower deliveries from Bhuvneswar, Unadkat, and Natarajan. Dube played aggressively during his partnership with Rahane, hitting 2 boundaries and 4 sixes before falling to a delivery from Cummins.
After Dube's dismissal, Rahane followed suit in the next over, further denting CSK's momentum. Despite their efforts, CSK couldn't accelerate as desired towards the end of the innings, leaving them with a challenging target to defend against SRH.
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