Eshan Malinga’s ice-cool death bowling and Shivang Kumar’s craft with the ball powered Sunrisers Hyderabad to a tense 10-run win over Chennai Super Kings, as the hosts survived a late scare in a high-pressure IPL clash here on Saturday.
Set 195 for victory, CSK closed on 184 for 8, undone largely by Malinga (3/29 in 4 overs) and Shivang (1/18 in 3 overs), who operated with precision through the crucial overs after the Powerplay and steadily drained the momentum from the chase.
With only 84 required from the final 10 overs, the equation seemed firmly within reach in modern T20 standards, but Malinga’s clever mix of yorkers, back-of-a-length deliveries and well-directed short balls stalled CSK’s progress, while Shivang extracted turn and steep bounce
that repeatedly troubled the visiting batters in yellow.
The result left CSK stuck in seventh position, while SRH climbed to fourth in the 10-team standings. It also extended CSK’s barren run in chasing down targets in excess of 190, a feat they have not achieved for the past eight years.
CSK entered the last over needing 18 runs, with Praful Hinge entrusted with the ball despite conceding more than 50 in his first three overs. The Vidarbha pacer held his nerve, allowing only seven runs and removing the dangerous Jamie Overton to close out the contest.
Sanju Samson launched the chase in style with a first-ball six, but Nitish Reddy, operating at an increased pace, banged the ball in the hard length area and dismissed him before he could inflict further damage.
Ayush Mhatre (30 off 13 balls) continued from his previous outing with a burst of boundaries and a six, but a hamstring issue appeared to hamper his focus as the innings progressed and disrupted his rhythm at the crease.
His stay ended thanks to a brilliant catch from Heinrich Klaasen, and an out-of-touch Ruturaj Gaikwad (19 off 12 balls) then received a heavy ball from Malinga that climbed on him, leading to a glove through to Salil Arora behind the stumps.
At 66 for 3, Sarfaraz Khan (25 off 19 balls) joined Matthew Short (34 off 30 balls), and the pair stitched together a stand of 46 before the Mumbai right-hander lost control of a flick off Malinga and was caught at deep mid-wicket, halting CSK’s rebuilding effort.
Dewald Brevis (0) then played a rash, ill-judged stroke against Shivang Kumar and perished in the deep, and although Short and Shivam Dube (21 off 16 balls) added another 35, they were unable to accelerate at the tempo the situation demanded.
In the closing overs, Malinga, Sakib Hussain (1/32) and Shivang combined superbly, denying room to the big hitters and ensuring CSK were kept in check when they needed to launch.
Earlier, Sunrisers Hyderabad’s batting line-up faltered despite a blistering half-century from Abhishek Sharma, as Chennai Super Kings’ pace duo Overton and Kamboj orchestrated an impressive bowling performance to restrict the home side to 194 for 9.
Opting to field first, CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad watched Abhishek (59 off 22 balls) blaze to yet another 15-ball fifty, and at that stage it seemed the decision to bowl might have misfired as SRH raced away in the early exchanges.
But the usually wayward left-arm seamer Mukesh Choudhary (2/21 in 2 overs) struck twice off the last two balls of the Powerplay, removing Travis Head (23 off 20 balls) and captain Ishan Kishan (0) to pull the innings back dramatically.
In a matter of two deliveries, 75 for no loss after 5.4 overs became 75 for 2 at the six-over mark. That opening was all CSK needed, and the overs that followed the Powerplay turned into a struggle for the ‘Orange Army’ batters, with the exception of Heinrich Klaasen (59 off 39 balls), whose composed half-century dragged the total close to the 200-run mark.
Overton (3/37) and Kamboj (3/22) dominated the middle and death overs, striking at regular intervals and ensuring the home team never truly broke free from their control.
SRH, however, were on course for a much bigger total and could easily have reached somewhere between 225 and 230 had they not collapsed, losing four wickets in the space of four and a half overs and stalling their charge.
Once reduced to 112 for 4 at the halfway point, the innings shifted from all-out attack to consolidation, and Klaasen responded by first steadying the slide and then counter-attacking when the opportunity arose.
Samson’s tactical awareness came to the fore when he opted for a review against Abhishek off an Overton short ball, a decision that turned into one of the defining moments of the match.
For CSK, the combination of Overton hammering away at hard lengths and Noor Ahmed (0/33 in 4 overs) using his variations in the air prevented Klaasen and the rest of the SRH middle order from swinging freely.
The Indian batters, including Nitish Reddy (12) and the uncapped pair of Aniket Verma and Salil Arora, were unable to push the scoring rate, leaving Klaasen burdened with the bulk of the scoring responsibility.
Kamboj (3/22 in 3 overs) deserved every bit of credit as he continued to showcase his skill with fast, wide yorkers from around the wicket, one of which forced Klaasen to drag the ball onto his stumps.
Gurjapneet Singh (1/34 in 4 overs), the tall left-arm hit-the-deck seamer, piled on the pressure with 12 dot balls, compounding SRH’s problems. As a result, the hosts mustered only 40 runs in the last five overs, a finish that ultimately left them just short of a winning total.
(With PTI Inputs)
