At Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) triumphed in yet another game. On Friday, April 5, Pat Cummins‘ team faced the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL 2024 match number 18. They came out swinging. With the toss in his favor, captain Cummins asked CSK to bat first in the second match of the season at the location.
Opening pairs Ruturaj Gaikwad (26 off 21) and Rachin Ravindra (12 off 9) got off to a cautious start. Following the removal of the openers, seasoned batsman Ajinkya Rahane (35 off 30) steadied the innings while Shivam Dube (45 off 24), at 4, blasted boundaries with abandon. CSK reached 165/5 thanks to late strikes from Ravindra Jadeja. T. Natarajan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Pat Cummins, Jaydev Unadkat, and others shared the wickets equally.
Also read: Shivam Dube’s brutal power launches T Natarajan into the stands – SRH vs CSK IPL 2024
Even though it was the CSK bowlers’ responsibility to stop the run scoring, Mukesh Choudhary gave up 27 runs in a single over, and Abhishek Sharma had him taken out. While the hosts scored 78/1 in the powerplay, Travis Head, Sharma’s opening partner, made sure to optimize field limits and contributed nothing to the pair’s 46-run partnership.
Talking Points 1. The ‘RRR’ trio is decent, but is it the best?
The renowned top-order three of Chennai, Ruturaj, Rachin, and Rahane, all had respectable beginnings. The senior player contributed the most from the top order, but he or she did not score as quickly as the ace hitter did. Shahbaz took advantage of Ruturaj because he was unable to seize the opportunity. Bhuvi undid the Kiwi batter, who was similarly unable to get going.
2. Fans of Uppal are unhappy with Thala Dharisanam
As luck would have it, Uppal’s stars came together for a thrilling Thala Dharisanam with three balls remaining in the innings. Nevertheless, Natarajan’s spot-on death bowling ensured that the spectators had nothing to celebrate other than MS Dhoni’s appearance at the crease, as he let the 42-year-old sneak just one run in the two balls bowled.
3. Hyderabad’s tone is set by Abhishek Sharma
Once again, Sharma’s festive season was going well for him because the Punjabi native arrived ready to play. You’ve heard this before, haven’t you, but the left-handed batter arrived at the crease like a thunderbolt and left like lightning during his 12-ball stay? Aiden Markram continued the momentum their opener had started, setting the tone for SRH with his blitz of 37 runs. Markram reached fifty runs off just 36 balls before Moeen Ali caught him in front of the wickets. Cummins and company crossed the finish line with six wickets and eleven balls left, climbing to fifth place on the points standings.
The losing skipper, Ruturaj Gaikwad, said:
“It was a slow pitch. At the back end they bowled well. We couldn’t capitalise in the last five overs. We were in a good situation halfway but they bowled well at the back. Black soil pitch, so we expected the slowness. As the ball got older, it got slower. They used the conditions well – big boundary one end. We did not bowl well in the powerplay but did well to drag the game. 170-175 is par, if we would have had a good powerplay with the ball, we could have had the game. There was slight dew at the later stage. Moeen was spinning the ball in the 15th-16th over, so not much of a difference.”
Winning skipper, Pat Cummins, said:
“Different soil, slowed up as the game went on. Stil a fantastic game. We have got plenty of fast bowlers. Shivam was hitting the spinners. So we took a chance with the fast bowlers bowling cutters. [Abhishek Sharma] I would not be wanting to be bowling to him. The crowd is crazy tonight, especially when MS walked out. We love playing here, home conditions.”
Player of the Match, Abhishek Sharma, said:
“In the bowling, we felt it was a slow wicket. So we wanted to take the powerplay on. We had a chance to prepare well before the IPL. We knew it will be slow, but not if we take on the bowler. Because it would be difficult for the bowler as well. Big scores matter, but I went with the flow today. Hopefully I will get out last next time. It is all the hard work I have put before this. Special thanks to my dad, Yuvi paaji (Yuvraj Singh, mentor) and Brian Lara.”
India
