A clinical bowling performance saw Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Chennai Super Kings by five wickets and register their first victory at the Chepauk in the IPL match in Chennai on Friday.
Harshal Patel, with a four-wicket haul, and Ishan Kishan, who scored a fighting 44 off 34 balls, were the stand-out performers for the Sunrisers.
Understandably, skipper Pat Cummins was relieved.
Speaking after the match, the Australian pacer said, "It was great (the team’s performance). A few things came together tonight; the boys played well. Thought it (the bowling) was pretty clinical.
“A couple of guys at the top (while batting) wanted to take the game on, but the boys shifted defensively and did really well."
He went on to say the team wanted to try out Heinrich Klaasen, who came in a No. 4 and scored 7, at the top and give the struggling Nitish Kumar Reddy the finisher’s role.
"Our record against CSK isn't that great, so it is good to fix that one up. We wish we finished that more comfortably, but, overall, happy with that win."
Coming to the match, SRH opted to bowl first after winning the toss. Brisk knocks from Dewald Brevis (42 off 25 balls, including a four and four sixes) and Ayush Mhatre (30 off 19, including six fours) were the highlights of CSK’s batting, but they lost wickets regularly and were skittled out for 154 in 19.5 overs.
Harshal (4 for 28) was the Sunrisers’s top bowler. Jaydev Unadkat (2 for 21) was also impressive in his 2.5 overs. Cummins finished with 2 for 21 from four.
During the run-chase of 155 runs, SRH did face some hiccups and were in a mess at 106 for 5 after 13.5 overs, but Kishan and Kamindu Mendis (32 not out off 22 balls, including three fours) did their bit to steer Sunrisers Hyderabad to victory with eight balls to spare.
Noor Ahmed (2/42) was the pick of CSK’s bowlers.
Harshal was named 'Player of the Match' for his four-wicket haul.
Friday’s victory took Sunrisers Hyderabad to eighth in the 10-team points’ table after three wins and six defeats.
Five-time champions CSK are at the bottom with just four points after two wins and seven defeats.
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