IPL 2018: Match 20, SRH vs CSK- Who Said What

The contest between the Chennai Super Kings and the Sunrisers Hyderabad turned out to be a thriller as the game went till the final ball. The visitors were pushed to the back-foot early, but some lusty hitting by their middle order helped them post a daunting target. SRH stuttered early on but the likes of Kane Williamson and Yusuf Pathan kept them in the game, but CSK emerged triumphant by four wickets and moved to the top of the table.

Rayudu mauls the Sunrisers

The conditions were overcast and hence, Kane Williamson elected to field first and the decision didn’t backfire as Shane Watson nipped Shane Watson out with a slower delivery, which gripped the surface. Thereafter, Rashid Khan picked up Faf du Plessis, who replaced his South African teammate in Imran Tahir. The onus was on Ambati Rayudu and Suresh Raina to resurrect the derailed start.

To the delight of the visitors, the sun made its presence felt and the CSK batsman made hay by peppering the boundaries. While Raina played the sheet anchor’s role, Rayudu unleashed his strokes, which kept the scoreboard moving. The stand was eventually broken by a shambolic run-out as Rayudu searched for an unavailable single. Towards the end, MS Dhoni played a cameo which helped CSK post a competitive 182 runs on board.

Williamson and Yusuf strain, but CSK trumps

Chasing the target, the Sunrisers Hyderabad lost the wickets of Ricky Bhui, Manish Pandey and Deepak Hooda in quick succession as Deepak Chahar wreaked havoc with the new ball. Shakib Al Hasan joined his skipper in the middle and played some glorious strokes, but his innings was cut short by Karn Sharma. On the other hand, Williamson played with expertise and kept the home team in the game.

However, he was dismissed courtesy a brilliant catch by Ravindra Jadeja from long on. Yusuf Pathan smacked some after a lacklustre start, which kept them in the contest, but his dismissal made CSK the firm favourites. Rashid hit three boundaries off successive deliveries, which reignited SRH’s hope to win, but Bravo held his nerves and defended six runs off the final ball.

MS Dhoni, the skipper of Chennai Super Kings said

Won’t say what we were talking about (chat with Bravo before the last ball), wanted him to change his plan. At times even the best – Bravo – need a bit of advice. That’s what they’re paid for. What’s important is you make mistakes and learn. In league stages you can afford to do that. Where we are at this point, a few mistakes won’t dent us. Bowlers will learn out of it. Wickets have gone better.

If you compare it to the first few editions of the IPL, these wickets are very good batting surfaces. Need to give credit to the batsmen. They’re getting stronger. They’re making plans as to which bowler bowls what. As we get into the knockout stages, we’ll see the bowlers coming up with new plans and it won’t be easy for the batsmen to score the kind of runs they’re scoring so far.

What’s important is to give them – the younger bowlers – as many games as possible. Deepak swings the ball and lends balance with his batting down the order. Shardul had a few bad games. Last international series wasn’t good for him. But he has the right attitude and also the variations. Rayudu was fantastic. One thing was where to make him play. Had to make space for him because I’ve always rated him highly. I’ve seen him bat up the order, he looks confident. Whenever he hits the big shots, he maintains the shape. He’s somebody who can bat at different numbers. But I prefer him opening the batting.

[interaction id=”5adc807a647b0fa42650d633″]

For all the latest cricket news and other details follow CricTracker.