Played on a different surface to the 277 game, the SRH bowlers took the pace off and struck at regular intervals to keep the CSK batters in check
CSK’s Shivam Dube during his 45 against SRH in Hyderabad yesterday. Pic/PTI
The Hyderabad crowd had to wait till 19.3 overs for their favourite MS Dhoni to come out to bat. A loud roar greeted ‘Thala’. Till then, Sunrisers Hyderabad had kept Chennai Super Kings on a tight leash.
From a high of 277-3 by SRH against Mumbai Indians the other day, CSK contrived to score 165-5 against the hosts at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Friday. Dhoni faced two balls off left-arm seamer T Nataraj before stealing a single to stay unbeaten at the end of the Chennai innings. The No. 7 Dhoni yellow jerseys were all over the stadium. It overshadowed the Orange Army colour, making one wonder whether the game was in Chennai or Hyderabad.
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Played on a different surface to the 277 game, the SRH bowlers took the pace off and struck at regular intervals to keep the CSK batters in check. Veteran left-arm seamer Jaydev Unadkat (4-0-29-1) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (4-0-28-1) impressed with their back of a length and slower deliveries.
Opting to field, SRH got an early breakthrough with Kumar dismissing prolific New Zealand left-hander Rachin Ravindra in the fourth over. Skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad was out for a 21-ball 26 to leave CSK at 54-2 in 7.1 overs. Left-hander Shivam Dube hit a 24-ball 45 (2x4, 4x6) before he was deceived by Pat Cummins’s slower bouncer and caught at point. Dube was the dominant partner in the third wicket stand with Ajinkya Rahane, who got out to a stunning catch by Mayank Markande at backward point off Unadkat. CSK could score only 38 runs in their last five overs.
Opener Mayank Agarwal, who was unwell, missed out and Andhra Pradesh all-rounder Nitish Reddy replaced him. Travis Head was named the Impact Player with T Natarajan returning to the squad. CSK made three changes. As expected, Mustafizur missed the match. Matheesha Pathirana, who revelled in his yorkers the last match, was rested due to a niggle. Moeen Ali and Maheesh Theekshana made their first appearances of the season.
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