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.

Sunrisers Hyderabad opener Travis Head in action during the Indian Premier League match against Delhi Capitals in New Delhi on April 20, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar

Jake Fraser-McGurk, the young Australian sensation, played a blinder to give Delhi Capitals a slim chance to pull off a miraculous chase. But the right-handed power-hitter proved to be an exception on a night dominated by left-handers.

Sunrisers’ left-handed quartet — openers Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed and pacer T. Natarajan — ensured the Sunrisers climbed to the second spot with a facile 67-run win at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Saturday.

Head’s and Abhishek’s sensational strokeplay fetched a whopping 125 — the highest in the first six overs in T20 history. It was Sunrisers’ third 250-plus total of the season and also the fourth highest tally in the IPL. Despite spin twins Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel pulling things back immediately after the PowerPlay, the damage had been done.

Head blew hot from the word go. He missed a heave off Khaleel Ahmed’s first delivery but once he connected the next which sailed into the stands, the Capitals players were left fetching the ball from outside the boundary ropes. While Head stormed to his fifty in the third over, off just 14 balls, Abhishek made the most of the strike that came his way by going after Kuldeep, who was introduced in the fifth over. The PowerPlay overs saw Head and Abhishek hit 13 fours and 11 sixes and Capitals could bowl just five dot balls. Despite Kuldeep and Axar striking four times in 18 balls, Shahbaz and Nitish Kumar Reddy ensured the Sunrisers ended the innings on a high to post a daunting 266 for seven. Fraser-McGurk extended his previous night’s net session into a range-hitting exhibition to leave the fans spellbound. At the halfway stage, Capitals rattled up 138 and also had another left-hander — Rishabh Pant — at the crease. But the Capitals skipper was scratchy throughout, pegging the team back. Natarajan mopped up the tail to finish with figures of 4-1-19-4, his best in the IPL on a dazzling night for Sunrisers.

Teams

Delhi Capitals: David Warner, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Abishek Porel, Rishabh Pant (w/c), Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel, Lalit Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Anrich Nortje, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar.

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen (w), Abdul Samad, Nitish Reddy, Shahbaz Ahmed, Pat Cummins (c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mayank Markande, T Natarajan.