Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) defeated Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by six wickets in the 18th match of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad, on Friday.
Aiden Markram top-scored for SRH by scoring a crucial 50 that strengthened their position in the chase after a strong start provided by Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma.
Sharma scored a blistering 37 off just 12 balls with the help of seven boundaries as he put SRH on top from the very first ball. Before he could reach his half-century, the 23-year-old became the victim of Deepak Chahar.
Following Sharma’s wicket, Head stayed on the wicket and built a partnership with Markram. However, the Aussie couldn’t play as he was expected to and lost his wicket to Sri Lanka’s Maheesh Theekshana for 31 runs.
The wickets kept falling but the damage had already been done as SRH were in total control of the game. The match went to run-a-ball chase in the last few overs and it was ultimately finished by Nitish Kumar Reddy who who Chahar for a six on the first ball of the 19th over and ended the game.
Batting first, the Kings did not have the most desirable start as star opener Rachin Ravindra departed for the pavilion after scoring just 12 runs on nine balls, becoming a victim of Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Soon after Ravindra walked back to the pavilion, Ruturaj Gaikwad followed him after contributing 26 runs as he fell to Shahbaz Ahmed, leaving his side 54-2 in 7.1 overs.
However, the Kings got the much-needed break after Gaikwad’s dismissal as Ajinkya Rahane and Shivam Dube formed a crucial 65-run partnership which brought the five-time IPL winners back in the driving seat.
Despite a commendable batting display, none of the batters could complete their half-centuries as Rahane scored 35 off 30 while Dube fell five runs short of his 50 as he departed after posting 45 runs on just 24 balls.
Down the order, Ravindra Jadeja provided crucial runs to the Kings total by scoring 31 runs with the help of four boundaries. Daryl Mitchell didn’t have his day as he could only contribute 13 runs.
For the winning side, all of Bhuvneshwar, Shahbaz, Pat Cummins, Jaydev Unadkat, and T. Natajaran bagged one wicket each.