Chennai Super Kings don’t seem to be doing anything wrong in the UAE leg of this IPL. Surviving a late hiccup, they recorded their fourth successive victory, beating bottom-placed Sunrisers Hyderabad by six wickets at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Thursday.
Courtesy this win, the Super Kings extended their lead at the top of the table with 18 points from 11 games and also became the first team to secure a play-offs berth this season.
For sure it has been a brilliant comeback for the three-time champions, who proved their forgettable campaign last year was an anomaly. For the Sunrisers, the defeat crushed their hopes of making the knockouts.
Once again, it was their incisive bowling and the Ruturaj Gaikwad-Faf du Plessis opening combination that helped the Super Kings log full points in a game that could have been tricky for them, thanks to the sluggish Sharjah wicket as well as a slow outfield.
However, Ambati Rayudu (17 not out) smashed Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who erred in length, for a six and a boundary off successive balls in the penultimate over which made the equation easier for the Super Kings.
Thereafter, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (14 not out) completed the formalities with a huge six over deep mid-wicket when Siddarth Kaul pitched it on his arc. The Super Kings overhauled the Sunrisers’ 134/7 with two balls to spare.
Openers’ strokeplay
The conditions in Sharjah again weren’t ideal at all for strokeplay with batsmen new at the crease finding life to be quite difficult. The opening partnership of 75 between Gaikwad (45) and Du Plessis (41) thus assumes much importance.
Josh & Bravo strike
For a good part of his four-over quota, Josh Hazlewood (3/24) bowled the ideal length after his team opted to bowl first. That paid him dividends, including the prized scalp of Sunrisers opener Jason Roy.
Returning in place of Sam Curran, Dwayne Bravo (2/17) showed he could execute even the yorker to perfection, trapping Sunrisers skipper Kane Williamson lbw. Besides, he made fine use of the slow pitch by taking pace off the ball.
