Mumbai:The 21-year-old Abhishek took the attack to the opposition with his first IPL half-century, which was studded with five fours and three sixes, and helped Hyderabad chase down the target of 155 with 14 balls to spare. On a sluggish pitch, Abhishek took the pressure off his captain Kane Williamson (32 off 40 balls, 2 fours, 1 six), who played second fiddle to the youngster. Williamson was dismissed in the 13th over off the bowling of left-arm pacer Mukesh Choudhary (1/30) after sharing an 89-run opening stand with Abhishek, who fell in the 18th to Dwayne Bravo (1/29) with Hyderabad needing just 10 runs. No.3 Rahul Tripathi (39 not out off 15 balls, 5 fours, 2 sixes) then ensured that there was no hiccup in the run chase.
He glanced Bravo for a boundary to finish the chase in style. Abhishek was dropped on 62 by Chennai skipper Ravindra Jadeja but by then, Chennai had lost the plot. Earlier, Moeen Ali top-scored with a 35-ball 48 (3 fours, 2 sixes) for Chennai, which posted 154 for seven after being asked to bat first. Jadeja (23 off 15 balls, 2 fours, 1 six) played a cameo towards the end to prop up Chennai after it lost wickets in a heap.
Robin Uthappa (15) was dismissed by Washington Sundar (2/21) in the off-spinner’s very first ball, when the CSK opener went for a slog sweep. Having conceded 25 runs in the first three overs, Hyderabad was back in the game and things got better for it with the introduction of Thangarasu Natarajan (2/30) into the attack.
The left-arm pacer produced a peach of a delivery to dismiss out-of-form opening batter Ruturaj Gaikwad (16). At 36 for two in 5.1 overs, Chennai was in a spot of bother and needed a partnership. The duo of Moeen and Ambati Rayudu (27) answered the call with a third-wicket stand that was worth 62 runs.
Nearing 100 and with batting to come on a pitch where the ball seemed to stop, Chennai was well-placed when Rayudu departed. However, Williamson’s gamble to bring in Aiden Markram (1/8) worked as CSK lost its fourth wicket – Moeen – at 108 in the 15th over.
BRIEF SCORES: Chennai Super Kings 154/7 in 20 overs (M Ali 48, Washington Sundar 2/21) lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad 155/2 in 17.4 overs (Abhishek 75, R Tripathi 39*)
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