Ruturaj Gaikwad might have missed out on a well-deserved second consecutive ton, but the Chennai Super Kings skipper regaled the sell-out crowd with a scintillating 98 (54b, 10×4, 3×6) to set up a commanding 78-run win for his side over Sunrisers Hyderabad at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium here on Sunday.

The skipper was well supported by Daryl Mitchell (52, 32b, 7×4, 1×6), who finally found form as they combined to forge a 107-run stand for the second wicket. Later, Shivam Dube (39 n.o., 20b, 1×4, 4×6) gave the innings the final flourish as the Super Kings posted 212 for three.

In reply, Sunrisers’ chase stuttered from the beginning with Tushar Deshpande’s triple strike (three for 23) in the PowerPlay. Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma picked two sixes off his first three balls off the pacer, but Deshpande came back strongly to remove Head and Anmolpreet Singh off successive deliveries. In the next over, the he dismissed Abhishek, caught by Mitchell at deep-point, to rattle the visitors.

During the middle overs, Ravindra Jadeja dried up the runs with a miserly spell (one for 22). When Matheesha Pathirana pegged Aiden Markram’s middle-stump back with a searing yorker in the 11th over, SRH slumped to 85 for five from which it could never recover and was bowled out for 134.

Showing the way

Earlier, Ruturaj’s majestic knock set CSK on course for an imposing total after it was asked to bat first on a slow pitch.

Whether giving himself room to smash left-arm spinner Shahbaz Ahmed inside-out, or slicing Bhuvneshwar Kumar behind point, or sending a copybook cover drive to the ropes, Ruturaj easily peppered the off-side fence.

At the other end, Mitchell slowly found his bearings and struck to his strength of going down the ground, with success — the best shot being a lofted six off Cummins over long-off as he got his maiden half-century.

Even as Ruturaj was tiring as he neared his century, Dube took the baton from his captain and smashed T. Natarajan for a couple of sixes to get going. The duo added 74 for the third wicket to power CSK past 200, which proved more than enough.

Scoreboard

CHENNAI SUPER KINGS

Ajinkya Rahane c Shahbaz b Bhuvneshwar 9 (12b, 1×4), Ruturaj Gaikwad c Nitish b Natarajan 98 (54b, 10×4, 3×6), Daryl Mitchell c Nitish b Unadkat 52 (32b, 7×4, 1×6), Shivam Dube (not out) 39 (20b, 1×4, 4×6), M.S. Dhoni (not out) 5 (2b, 1×4)

Extras: (b-1, lb-2, w-6): 9;

Total: (for three wkts. in 20 overs): 212.

FALL OF WICKETS

1-19 (Rahane, 2.5 overs), 2-126 (Mitchell, 13.3), 3-200 (Ruturaj, 19.2).

SUNRISERS BOWLING

Bhuvneshwar 4-0-38-1, Nitish 1-0-8-0, Shahbaz 3-0-33-0, Natarajan 4-0-43-1, Unadkat 4-0-38-1, Cummins 4-0-49-0.

SUNRISERS HYDERABAD

Travis Head c Mitchell b Deshpande 13 (7b, 1×4, 1×6), Abhishek Sharma c Mitchell b Deshpande 15 (9b, 1×4, 1×6), Anmolpreet Singh (Impact Player in place of Natarajan) c Moeen b Deshpande 0 (1b), Aiden Markram b Pathirana 32 (26b, 4×4), Nitish Reddy c Dhoni b Jadeja 15 (15b), Heinrich Klaasen c Mitchell b Pathirana 20 (21b, 1×6), Abdul Samad c (sub) Rizvi b Shardul 19 (18b, 1×4, 1×6), Shahbaz Ahmed c Mitchell b Mustafizur 7 (5b, 1×4), Pat Cummins c Mitchell b Deshpande 5 (7b, 1×4), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (not out) 4 (3b), Jaydev Unadkat c Moeen b Mustafizur 1 (2b)

Extras: (nb-1, w-2): 3

Total: (in 18.5 overs): 134.

FALL OF WICKETS

1-21 (Head, 1.5), 2-21 (Anmolpreet, 1.6), 3-40 (Abhishek, 3.5), 4-72 (Nitish, 8.5), 5-85 (Markram, 10.5), 6-117 (Klaasen, 15.5), 7-119 (Samad, 16.2), 8-124 (Cummins, 17.3), 9-132 (Shahbaz, 18.2).

SUPER KINGS BOWLING

Chahar 3-0-22-0, Deshpande 3-0-27-4, Mustafizur 2.5-0-19-2, Jadeja 4-0-22-1, Shardul (Impact Player in place of Dube) 4-0-27-1, Pathirana 2-0-17-2.

Toss: Sunrisers; PoM: Ruturaj.

CSK won by 78 runs.

Chennai Super Kings Shivam Dube plays a shot during the Indian Premier League 2024 match against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Hyderabad on April 5, 2024.
| Photo Credit: B. Jothi Ramalingam

An inspired collective bowling performance from its pacers, followed by Abhishek Sharma and Aiden Markram’s fireworks with the bat, ensured Sunrisers Hyderabad coasted to an easy six-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here on Friday.

Sunrisers’s four-pronged pace attack restricted CSK to just 165 for five on a slow surface after electing to field. The Hyderabad bowlers quickly assessed the conditions, bowling into the pitch with a mix of cutters and slow bouncers, taking pace off their deliveries.

SRH vs CSK Live Score IPL 2024

Defending a modest total, Super Kings got off the wrong foot when Moeen Ali dropped Travis Head off the second ball at first slip. It was a sign of things to come as Abhishek tore apart the Chennai bowling attack in the PowerPlay with a 12-ball 37 (3×4, 4×6).

The left-hander smashed Mukesh Choudhary for three sixes and two boundaries as 27 came off the second over. He then hit Deepak Chahar for a six and four before the bowler got the better of him, but not before doing substantial damage. Travis Head (31) and Aiden Markram (50, 36b, 4×4, 1×6) then did not take their foot off the pedal as they made short work of the Chennai bowlers to take their team past 100 in the ninth over.

Though the defending champion fought back with three quick wickets, SRH was well ahead by then and got over the line with 11 balls to spare to get its second win. It was surprising why the CSK think-tank failed to employ the spinners — it had four in its ranks — earlier than it did.

Earlier, the Super Kings batters struggled for rhythm and played out 39 dot balls as Pat Cummins, Jaydev Unadkat, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar kept a tight leash on scoring.

Only Shivam Dube infused some life into his side’s batting effort with a quickfire 45 (24b, 2×4, 4×6). Dube got going by hitting Shahbaz for a six and four.

In the next over, he took on leggie Mayank Markande, clubbing him through covers for a four before a slog-swept six over square leg. He then hit left-arm pacer T. Natarajan for consecutive sixes over the leg side.

But once Cummins got Dube with a slow bouncer, the boundaries dried up as CSK managed just 38 off the last five and slumped to its second defeat.