A fine knock by Abhishek Sharma (75 runs, 50 balls) and a late cameo by Rahul Tripathi (39 not out, 15 balls) helped Sunrisers Hyderabad register a comprehensive eight-wicket win against defending champions Chennai Super Kings in Match 17 of IPL 2022 at the D.Y Patil Stadium here on Saturday.
The SRH bowlers first restricted CSK to a modest score of 154/7 in 20 overs and then their batters, specially Abhishek Sharma and Rahul Tripathi, successfully chased down the target in 17.4 overs.With their impeccable batting, SRH openers Kane Williamson and Abhishek Sharma made the 155-run chase look very easy. They stitched 89 runs for the first wicket and then Tripathi and the highest scorer of the match, Sharma, guided SRH home with 14 balls to spare.This is the first win for Sunrisers Hyderabad in three matches while Chennai Super Kings succumbed to their fourth defeat in four matches and are still waiting for their first win this season.Earlier, fine bowling by SRH bowlers restricted Chennai Super Kings to a paltry score of 154/7 in 20 overs.CSK started poorly but a 62-run partnership for the third wicket between Moeen Ali and Ambati Rayudu came as some respite for the four-time champions.
Apart from this, none of the CSK batters applied themselves against the new-look bowling unit of SRH.In search of their first win in the IPL 2022, CSK openers Robin Uthappa and Ruturaj Gaikwad started the proceedings cautiously as both were hesitant to go after the bowling. Both the CSK batters played senior pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar with respect but tried to smash Marco Jansen all over the park.Seeing the opponents' intentions, Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Kane Williamson brought in right-arm off-spinner Washington Sunder into the attack very early. And the Chennai-born bowler delivered with his first ball when he trapped the dangerous-looking Robin Uthappa.Uthappa tried to slog a tossed-up delivery from Sunder, completely miscued it as it came off the bottom of the bat and went to long-on where Markram was waiting for a simple catch. CSK lost their first wicket when the score was 25 in the fourth over.However, it did not deter Gaikwad from playing his shots. He was trying hard to make the run rate steady, smashing two fours off Jansen. He was in control till T. Natarajan came into the attack. And with a beautiful in-swinger, the left-hand bowler dismantled Gaikwad.The weakness against the left-hand pacer again come to the fore for Gaikwad, who did not handle a perfect in-swinger from Natarajan, leaving a wide gap between bat and pad, only to see his middle stump uprooted.After his departure, Moeen Ali started the rescue work. He and Ambati Rayudu built up a good partnership hitting odd fours and sixes.
Using his international captaincy experience, Williamson made regular bowling changes that made things difficult for CSK batters, who were struggling to make runs. Young bowler Umran Mallik, with his brisk pace again, made it very difficult for batters like Moeen Ali and Ambati Rayudu to play their shots.For CSK, Moeen Ali (48 runs, 35 balls) and Ambati Rayudu (27 runs, 27 balls) made some impactful batting, hitting odd boundaries and sixes. A 62-run partnership for the third wicket between them came as a respite for the four-time champions. Apart from this, none of the CSK batters applied themselves against the new-look bowling unit of SRH and eventually got out.T. Natarajan and Washington Sunder were at their best, scalping two wickets each for SRH while Markram, Marco Jansen and Bhuvneshwar Kumar got one wicket each.When M.S Dhoni and current skipper Ravindra Jadeja were at the crease, fans were expecting some lusty blows from them, but Dhoni got out cheaply.CSK skipper Jadeja was looking good while batting but it seems that captaincy brings a burden on his shot-playing skills. When it mattered the most, he once again failed to contribute, making only 23 runs in 15 balls. In the end there was nothing left for D.J Bravo and Chris Jordan to do.
Brief scores: Chennai Super Kings 154/7 in 20 overs (Moeen Ali 48, Ambati Rayudu 27, Ravindra Jadeja 23; Washington Sundar 2-21, T. Natarajan 2-30) lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad 155/2 in 17.4 overs (Abhishek Sharma 75, Kane Williamson 32, Rahul Tripathi 39 not out; Mukesh Choudhary 1-30, Bravo 1-29) by 8 wickets.