Chennai Super Kings' slow batting on a sluggish Hyderabad pitch cost them dearly as they suffered a six-wicket loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad on Friday.
Aiden Markram scored a half-century while Abhishek Sharma made a quick-fire 37-ball 12 as Hyderabad chased down the 166-run target with 11 balls to spare at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.
Hyderabad moved up to fifth place in the points table with two wins from four games, while Chennai, who suffered their second defeat in the tournament, are in third place.
"When we bowled, the first 10 overs or so, it (the ball) was coming on alright but it got tougher," said Markram, who hit four fours and a six in his 50-run knock.
Chennai skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad said his batsmen failed to capitalise in the last five overs and put up a bigger total. "It was a slow pitch. At the back end, they bowled well," he said.
Chasing 166, SRH began in explosive fashion with Abhishek Sharma taking the attack to the bowlers. It was almost as if he started from where he left off during the innings against Mumbai Indians (MI) last week. The 12-ball 37 was an entertaining knock that featured three fours and four sixes. He flicked and pulled with panache – a shot that stood out was a flick over mid-wicket that sailed all the way. The entertaining knock ended in the third over when he found Ravindra Jadeja at point off Deepak Chahar.
Earlier, the Hyderabad bowlers were disciplined while restricting CSK to 165 for 5 in 20 overs with only 37 being scored off the last five overs. CSK batters failed to capitalize on their starts and were restricted to a below-par total.
Shivam Dube top-scored with a 24-ball 45 while veteran Ajinkya Rahane contributed a sedate 35 off 30 balls after CSK were asked to bat on a pitch that didn’t look like a batting track. The duo’s 65-run partnership for the third wicket from just 6.3 overs was the only highlight of the CSK innings.
CSK’s star player Ravindra Jadeja's unbeaten 31 off 23 balls helped the team reach a respectable total.
Hyderabad made a flying start with Abhishek Sharma scoring 37 off just 12 deliveries with four sixes to lay the platform. He hammered 27 runs including three sixes and two fours in the second over by Mukesh Choudhary. Aiden Markram then anchored a run chase and took Hyderabad to a comfortable victory.
Heinrich Klassen and Nitish Kumar Reddy, however, ensured there were no further setbacks and carried the team past the target.
(Agencies)
