Is Chennai Super Kings an unstoppable force? So far in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018, they have looked as the complete team. Four wins from five matches and sitting pretty at top of the table, MS Dhoni’s troops have been in a zone much for others to catch up and follow. The manner in which CSK downed SRH showed that they are the master of heartbeats.
CSK overpowered Sunrisers Hyderabad to win match number 20 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. That being said a four-run victory against a formidable SRH side will give MSD and Co. plenty of satisfaction. In pursuit of 183 runs, SRH failed to chase down the target with Kane Williamson’s 51-ball 84 runs not being enough.
Deepak Chahar was the pick of the bowlers for CSK as SRH succumbed to their 2nd defeat.
That's it from Hyderabad.
The @ChennaiIPL win by 4 runs and now sit atop the #VIVOIPL points table. pic.twitter.com/RdVJSWiavV
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 22, 2018
Earlier, CSK rode to a challenging 182/3 after a breezy 79 from an in-form Ambati Rayudu with Suresh Raina (54*) providing a solid base as well. Besides Bhuvneshwar Kumar, none of the other bowlers stepped up to the plate to stop the visitors.
STAT ATTACK – SRH VS CSK
- This was the seventh meeting between the two sides in IPL.
- With this win, CSK have ensured that they enjoy a 5-2 advantage.
- Meanwhile, this was also their third meet in Hyderabad and CSK once again took the upper hand 2-1.
Williamson’s steel fails to steer SRH
The hosts would have felt that half of the match was gone when they lost three quick wickets in the chase. But on the other hand, it was skipper Kane Williamson playing a solid knock of 84 runs to back it up with a 54 and 50 in the previous two matches.
Williamson has been in prime form with the bat, but the others haven’t quite got it going so far which has hurt the side in the last two matches. The Kiwi skipper took the game by his hand and shared a crucial 49-run stand with Shakib Al Hasan. The moment of the match came when he stitched another 79-run partnership with Yusuf Pathan (39), but his dismissal, in the end, left SRH reeling.
He hit five fours and five sixes.
It’s Chahar this time for CSK
The men in yellow are making it a habit of producing match winners every game and this time it was Deepak Chahar. Last game Shane Watson stepped up to the cause against Rajasthan Royals and Chahar’s three wickets made the difference in Sunday’s game.
The 25-year-old Chahar bowled a supreme spell for CSK to rip apart the SRH batting early on and leaving too much for Williamson to do. Chahar rattled the SRH top order early on starting with dismissing Ricky in the first over. In his next over, he sent Manish Pandey back to the hut, who scored a two-ball duck.
Hooda was the next to be dismissed for one run off seven balls which in turn helped CSK put a web around SRH. This was Chahar’s sixth wicket in IPL 2018.
Champion spell indeed! Well Bowled Cherry! #WhistlePodu #Yellove #SRHvCSK 🦁💛 pic.twitter.com/N08uOsRVMa
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) April 22, 2018
Is CSK the master of heartbeats?
CSK and thrillers seem to hand in hand. They sealed a nerve-wrenching win against Mumbai Indians in the opener, which was followed with another nail-biting finish against Kolkata Knight Riders. Against the Kings XI, Dhoni almost ensured a victory for CSK, but they fell short by four runs. And now its Sunday’s match against SRH where the hosts almost pulled out a rabbit out of their hat.
The four-run win had a lot of drama in the end as SRH lost both Williamson and Pathan before Wriddhiman Saha failed to justify his position once again after struggling in the middle. But it was Rashid Khan, who amassed 17* off four balls and almost had the match in his pocket.
Credit to Dwayne Bravo for holding on and bowling the final ball exceptionally well.
