Top knocks from Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway followed by a four-wicket haul of Mukesh Choudhary helped Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings to a 13-run win against SunRisers Hyderabad, here at MCA Stadium, on Sunday.
Chasing a mammoth 203-run target SunRisers Hyderabad needed a flying start and Abhishek Sharma and Kane Williamson did exactly taking the team’s total beyond the 50-run mark in 4.4 overs. Abhishek Sharma was the aggressor hitting boundaries. The 58-run partnership was broken by left-arm medium-pacer Mukesh Choudhary dismissing Abhishek Sharma for 39 off 24 balls as SRH lost their first wicket for 58. In the very next ball, Mukesh Choudhary dismissed Rahul Tripathi to a golden duck.
Aiden Markram then joined his skipper Williamson and the duo kept the scoreboard moving but CSK got their third success dismissing the South African batter for 10-ball 17. Slow left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner got his wicket as the 2016 champions lost their third wicket for 88.
Nicholas Pooran then joined Williamson and the duo took their team’s total beyond the triple-figure mark in 11.3 overs. Williamson-Pooran’s 38-run partnership was broken by Dwaine Pretorius as he got the prized scalp of SRH skipper for 47 off 37 balls. Williamson’s wicket brought Shashank Singh to the crease and the batter struck a partnership with Pooran to take Hyderabad’s total beyond the 150-run mark in 17.1 overs.
Mukesh Choudhary struck for the third time dismissing Shashank Singh for 15 as SRH lost half of their side for 151. In the same over he got his fourth scalp as he dismissed Washington Sundar for 2 as Hyderabad lost their sixth wicket for 153.
With 50 runs needed off the last 12 balls and only four wickets in hand, the target looked an uphill task for Hyderabad but Pooran did not give up and kept hitting boundaries to notch up his fifty in just 29 balls. Pooran remained unbeaten on 64 off 33 balls hitting three fours and six towering sixes but Hyderabad fell short by 13 runs as CSK led by MS Dhoni registered their third win of the season.
Earlier in the day after being put to bat first, CSK started off on a good note as the openers Gaikwad and Conway scored 40 runs in the powerplay. The momentum of the game completely changed by the end of the 8th over as the duo took the score to 60 runs. Gaikwad was in a lethal form as he scored his half-century in just 33 balls and kept CSK in a dominating position. Conway on the other end anchored the innings and gave a strong stand to Gaikwad.
The duo then took CSK across the 100-run mark in just 11 overs after scoring 15 runs off Aiden Markram’s over. Conway then brought up his maiden IPL half-century off just 39 balls, after smashing 20 runs in the 15th over.
SRH finally took a sigh of relief when T Natarajan dismissed Gaikwad, after scoring 99 runs, leaving CSK’s total at 182/1 in 18 overs. His dismissal brought Dhoni to the crease and he along with Conway continued the carnage.