Chennai Super Kings beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 20 runs to win match 29 of IPL 2020 in Dubai. This was CSK’s third win in this IPL campaign. They have moved up to the sixth position in the points table after this win. More so, this win helps them to keep their playoff hopes alive. Meanwhile, this was SRH’s second loss on the bounce, which keeps them in the bottom half of the table.
CSK won the toss and opted to bat first in Dubai. This was the first time, they were batting first in the season. Faf Du Plessis found a new partner in Sam Curran in this match. While du Plessis was out for a first-ball duck, Curran triggered the Chennai innings in the powerplay scoring a 21-ball 31.
Shane Watson (42) came into bat at number three and added an 81-run stand. MS Dhoni (21) and Ravindra Jadeja played (25*) then played cameos in the lower-order to take Chennai Super Kings from 116 in 15.2 overs to 167/5 after their 20 overs.
For Sunrisers Hyderabad, Sandeep Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed and Natarajan picked two wickets each. Rashid Khan bowled an economical spell but remained wicket-less.
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Chennai Super Kings Beat Sunrisers Hyderabad By 20 Runs
Chasing 168 to win, Sunrisers Hyderabad lost David Warner (9) early in the piece. Soon Manish Pandey threw his wicket away, trying t steal a quick single. Kane Williamson scored a 39-ball 57, however, ran out of partners at the other end. Priyam Garg (16) and Vijay Shankar (12) could not provide Williamson adequate support with the bat. At the end, they fell 20 short of the target, finishing on 147/8
For CSK, all their bowlers except Piyush Chawla were among the wickets. Conditions in the second innings favoured MS Dhoni rotate his bowlers around with the pitch slowing up. Chennai Super Kings were able to play their brand of cricket, which is to slow the game up by introducing their spinners in the middle-overs against their opposition.
The pitch offering enough spin and bounce to the spinners helped them to tie the opposition batsmen down and increase the required rate in the process resulting in wickets.
CSK, still needing a miraculous turnaround to make it to the playoffs, started off on a winning note in the back-half of the tournament, picking two crucial points.
What Was the Turning Point In the Game?
Sunrisers losing the wicket of Kane Williamson in the 18th over, proved to be the turning point in the game. CSK spinners had already slowed the game up by then and Williamson’s wicket helped them choke their opposition all the more.
Chennai Super Kings face Delhi Capitals in their next game, next Saturday, while Sunrisers Hyderabad face Kolkata Knight Riders next on Sunday.
Ravindra Jadeja was given the Man of the Match for his all-round performance for Chennai Super Kings. He scored 25* with the bat and then took 1 for 21 from his three overs with the ball. He also took two good catches in the outfield to strengthen his case.
“Very happy to contribute with both bat and ball. I was backing myself and I was only looking to see the ball and hit the ball without pre-planning. The wicket looks on the slower side so I was just looking to bowl into the stumps rather than give them room. It is a difficult wicket for batsmen” said the left-arm spinner.
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