SRH vs CSK: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, and Markram shine in batting for Hyderabad as they beat Chennai by 6 wickets

Sunrisers Hyderabad secured their second victory of the IPL 2024 season. They beat the defending champions, Chennai Super Kings by 6 wickets at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium after a complete performance from the team. SRH had to chase 166 runs and they got off to a sensational start. Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head helped SRH score plenty of runs in the powerplay and then Aiden Markram's half-century took the match far away from CSK's hands. The defending champions did make a comeback in the middle overs but Heinrich Klaasen ensured SRH's victory at home.

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SRH beat CSK by 6 wickets at home

Pat Cummins decided to bowl first after winning the toss. Rachin Ravindra and Ruturaj Gaikwad started the proceedings for CSK and put 25 runs on the scoreboard inside the first three overs. But, Bhuvneshwar Kumar drew the first blood, dismissing Ravindra for only 12 runs. Ruturaj started to hit some boundaries, putting off the pressure but Shahbaz struck with the first delivery of his spell. Gaikwad left the pitch, scoring 26 runs and Shivam Dube replaced him. The left-handed batter then started his proceedings with a powerful hit, giving the team six runs. Meanwhile, Ajinkya Rahane was helping Dube rotate the strike on the other side. Dube continued punishing the bowlers and in 29 bowls, the duo completed the 50-run partnership.

Dube was looking dangerous and soon Rahane started to hit some boundaries but Pat Cummins came up with the breakthrough, trapping Dube in a slower delivery. He left the pitch, scoring 45 runs in 24 deliveries while Unadkat dismissed Rahane on the other end who was batting on 35. Ravindra Jadeja and Daryl Mitchell had the responsibility to help the team go beyond 180 but fell short by 15-20 runs.

The SRH bowlers bowled well in the last few overs, restricting CSK from scoring runs, and the pressure paid off when Unadkat got the wicket of Mitchell (13). Ravindra Jadeja however found some boundaries and helped the team put up 165 runs on the scoreboard. He remained not out on 31, facing 23 deliveries while MS Dhoni also remained not out, scoring just 1 run off 2 deliveries. For SRH, Bhuvi bowled 4 overs and picked up 1 wicket, giving away only 28 runs. Unadkat also had a good day as he leaked only 29 runs off his 4-over spell and ended up getting the wicket of Mitchell. Pat Cummins also got one wicket in his 4-over spell.

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Travis Head's catch was dropped by Moeen Ali at the slip in the first over. It could have been a game-changer for CSK but it gave Head the helpline and he welcomed it with a big hit in the last delivery of the first over. Abhishek Sharma smashed 27 runs off Mukesh Choudhary's first over to help SRH get a perfect start to this run chase. Sharma kept on going but Deepak Chahar came up with his wicket in the third over. Abhishek left the pitch, scoring 37 off just 12 deliveries. 

Aiden Markram joined Head in the middle and continued to punish the Chennai bowlers. SRH scored 78 runs in the powerplay and it was looking like a cakewalk. Both batters added 60 runs for the second wicket before Theekshana dismissed Head (31). Markram completed his half-century but Moeen Ali trapped him for lbw. The spinners tried to change the game for CSK but it was too late. The target was not that big and SRH just needed to maintain a 5-6 run rate per over. But, Shahbaz threw away his wicket (18) so, Klaasen and Nitish Kumar Reddy had to take the responsibility to finish the match. Nitish finished the chase by hitting a six off Deepak Chahar's first delivery in the 19th over. 

CSK's bowlers looked helpless in front of SRH's strong top-order batters and they must have felt Pathirana and Mustafizur's absence dearly. Moeen Ali could have judged the ball with more precision as it could have changed the dynamics of the match. In the end, CSK just have to blame itself as this is their second straight loss of the Indian Premier League 2024 season. 

The batters that lit up our chase 💫🧡#PlayWithFire #SRHvCSK pic.twitter.com/KJpy8Mvt14

— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) April 5, 2024