Chennai Super Kings (CSK) delivered an all-round bowling performance to register a 20-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) here at the Dubai International Stadium on Tuesday. SRH needed 46 runs in the last three overs and they smashed 19 runs in the 18th over as the David Warner-led side saw a glimmer of hope.
However, Shardul Thakur brilliant over saw CSK inching closer to the win as Rashid’s cameo came to an end in the penultimate over. With 22 runs needed in six balls, Dwayne Bravo bowled a tight over to hand CSK an easy win. Chasing 168 runs, SRH got off to a worst possible start as Sam Curran dismissed skipper David Warner in the fourth over. Three balls Dwayne Bravo’s superb direct hit sent Manish Pandey back in the dugout as SRH lost two wickets in quick succession.
Kane Williamson then joined Jonny Bairstow and the duo played cautiously to avoid any more hiccups. Bairstow played a very sluggish knock before getting bowled by Ravindra Jadeja in the tenth over. With Bairstow’s wicket, Jadeja ended 32 runs partnership as SRH got reduced to 59/3 with 109 still needed in 61 balls. Meanwhile, Williamson smashed back-toback boundaries as he went inside-out twice to accelerate the chase. Karn Sharma ended 40 runs partnership between Williamson and Priyam Garg in the 15th over. SRH needed 67 in the last five overs with Williamson and Vijay Shankar on the crease.
Karn Sharma dismissed Williamson in the 18th over but the bowler went for 19 runs as SRH moved closer to the target. However, in the last two overs, CSK bowlers didn’t allow SRH batsmen to get over the line. Earlier after opting to bat first, CSK posted 167 runs after witnessing a poor start. Opener Faf du Plessis (0) was sent back to the pavilion by Sandeep Sharma in the third over. Sam Curran, who opened the batting was then joined by Shane Watson on the field. Curran started playing with an attacking mindset and smashed two sixes and as many boundaries to Khaleel Ahmed in the fourth over. However, in the next over, Sandeep Sharma dismissed Curran (31) as well.
Curran’s dismissal brought Rayudu out on the field. Rayudu, along with Watson, took the team over the 50-run mark in the seventh over. The duo formed a brilliant 81-run partnership before Ahmed got hold of Rayudu. Soon after that, Watson too was sent back to the pavilion which ended the batsman’s 42-run innings. MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja then took the field and took the team over the 150-run mark. Dhoni scored 21 runs from 13 balls before giving away an easy catch to Kane Williamson off Thangarasu Natarajan’s delivery in the 19th over. Jadeja struck a six and a boundary in the last over to set a target of 168 runs for SRH.
Brief scores: CSK 167/6 [Shane Watson 42 (38), Ambati Rayudu 41 (34), Sandeep Sharma 2-19)] beat SRH 147/8 [Kane Williamson 57(39), Rashid Khan 14(8), Karn Sharma 2-37, Dwayne Bravo 2-15].