IPL 2024: CSK’s away game woes persist, SRH clinches victory with ease
Electing to bowl after winning the toss proved to be a wise decision by SRH skipper Pat Cummins, as it managed to restrict CSK to just 165 runs - at least 30 runs lower than what they should have had on board
Visuals from the CSK vs SRH match in hyderabad on Friday (Credits: PTI
CHENNAI: Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) secured its second win of the season on Friday, defeating Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by six wickets with 11 balls to spare at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
Belying everyone's expectation of a run-fest, the match on the black-soil surface was a slow burner, which the home team used to the best of its advantages.
Electing to bowl after winning the toss proved to be a wise decision by SRH skipper Pat Cummins, as it managed to restrict CSK to just 165 runs - at least 30 runs lower than what they should have had on board.
The pitch offered swing in the initial few overs, which was perfectly utilised by Bhuvneshwar Kumar who dismissed in-form Rachin Ravindra. It was Kumar's first scalp of the season.
Left-arm spinner Shahbaz Ahmed got the better of CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad to give SRH another early advantage. But despite wickets crumbling on one end, the Chennai team's trusted middle-order soldier, Shivam Dube, marched on, showing his teammates how it is done.
The southpaw demonstrated why the CSK management trusts him, scoring 45 runs off just 24 balls (2x4, 4x6) in the middle overs to keep the scoreboard ticking.
However, despite its vaunted batting depth, which was the talking point in CSK’s playing 11, the team fell short by 30-odd runs to make it a match.
On the other hand, SRH bowlers understood the conditions very well and utilised the slow bouncers tactically.
It could have still gone in CSK's way, if only Moeen Ali managed to hold on to the chance offered by Travis Head in the very first over.
But the player who did the most damage was Abhishek Sharma, who utilised the powerplay to the hilt. Sharma tonked the ball around the park, scoring 37 runs off just 12 balls (3x4, 4x6) to give SRH the perfect start on a pitch that slowed down during the course of the innings.
Aiden Markram scored 50 runs off 36 balls to emerge as SRH's top scorer in the match, which it eventually won comfortably.
It should be noted that the script may have been different if Mustafizur Rahman and Matheesha Pathirana, the main weapons with the ball in CSK's arsenal, were available for the game. Beyond the wickets that they are wont to take, the Bangla-Lanka duo are also experts of bowling in conditions like these.
The key difference between SRH and CSK bowlers was how each of them utilised the slowness of the wicket. There were many slow bouncers and cutters that SRH bowlers used, but none by the CSK.
Mukesh Choudhary, who played his first game after 15 months, had a match to forget, leaking 27 runs in the first over. He didn't get a chance to make up for it, as the hammering he took in those six balls took him out of commission.
Moeen Ali was a great option for CSK in this game, trapping both Markram and Shahbaz in the end. But it didn't matter, as SRH breezed past CSK to hand the five-time champion side its second successive defeat away from home.
CSK now needs a fresh start, and what better pitch to do so as its home, MA Chidambaram stadium in Chepauk, where the men in yellow will come back to face the fierce KKR on Monday.
