Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Chennai Super Kings by five wickets on Monday, becoming the third team to qualify for the playoffs after Royal Challenges Bengaluru and Gujarat Titans.
SRH skipper Pat Cummins showed his complete control over pace and length with a three-wicket burst, and Ishan Kishan scored a game-winning 70 off 47 balls.
After the host team decided to bat, Cummins (3/28) struck at pivotal points in the game to prevent CSK from going on a lopsided run.
The Super Kings got off to a booming start thanks to Sanju Samson, who smashed Nitish Kumar Reddy for 6, 4, 4 to eke out 17 runs in the first over. In the following over, Samson treated Praful Hinge just as harshly, biffing him for a hat-trick of fours.
However, Samson’s massive shot ended up in the safe palms of stumper Ishan Kishan after Cummins introduced himself in the third over and pitched one up at a good tempo. Sakib Hussain’s slow ball beat his horizontal bat to rattle the stumps, but Urvil Patel’s two consecutive sixes off Cummins gave an early indication of his hitting prowess.
To keep their team on course, CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad and the outstanding Kartik Sharma (32, 19 balls) put up a 42-run partnership for the third wicket. With some incredible blows, such as an inside-out four off Hinge and a pulled six off left-arm wrist spinner Shivang Kumar, Kartik demonstrated his rapidly developing maturity.
However, a fast off delivery outside off-stump stole momentum from the young right-hander’s upper cut, which finished with Nitish at deep, and Cummins came back to answer for it. Gaikwad’s agonizing 15 off 21 balls was soon dismissed by Cummins’ quick chest-high bouncer. Eshan Malinga was too deep for Gaikwad’s feeble pull to clear.
Dewald Brevis (44, 27 balls) and Shivam Dube (26), who contributed 59 runs for the fifth wicket, gave CSK some momentum while they were stranded without any force. Brevis, who has so far struggled with his range in the IPL, was flawless that evening, smashing Nitish for a maximum and a four and Cummins for a six. This IPL season, it was his highest score.
However, Malinga stalled CSK once more by rearranging his stumps with a 141 kmph thunderbolt. Dube and the batters in the lower order attempted to turn the innings around and push CSK over 200, but they were unable to do so.
