Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are finally back to winning ways in the IPL 2020 after defeating Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by 20 runs. With this win, CSK registers the third win of the tournament having played eight games in the Dream 11 IPL 2020.
MS Dhoni won the toss and CSK decided to bat first. Surprisingly this was the very first instance of CSK batting first in the tournament. CSK made a respectable score of 167/6 in 20 overs thanks to Jadeja finishing the innings superbly after important contributions from Rayudu and Watson.
SRH chasing CSK’s target lost skipper David Warner getting caught and bowled to Sam Curran. Manish Pandey lost his wicket thanks to an excellent run out by DJ Bravo. However New Zealand captain Kane Williamson played a much-needed innings for SRH and brought up his first fifty of the tournament. Jonny Bairstow made a good start but got bowled to Jadeja failing to read the spin on the wicket.
Williamson with his first fifty in IPL 2020
Sunrisers kept the chase ongoing with a slow run rate in the middle overs owing to which they fell prey playing big shots. Priyam Garg and Vijay Shankar got out after trying to play the big shot. Williamson got out in the 18th over after making 57 from 39 balls hitting seven boundaries. Rashid Khan tried to play some big hits and successful in bringing the game close. However, Shardul Thakur and Dwayne Bravo held their nerves when 27 runs were required in the last two overs.
Bravo picked 25/2 in three overs while Thakur finished with 10/1 in two overs. Jadeja and Curran picked one wicket each in three overs for CSK.
With this win, CSK keeps their hope of qualifying in the knockout stages of the tournament with 6 games to go. SRH on the other hand are in the same position as CSK having lost five games and winning three.
CSK set a respectable target of 168 runs batting first
CSK were batting first in the tournament for the first time with the previous seven instances chasing the target. The Super Kings made a surprise change to the opening pair with Sam Curran opening the innings along with Faf Du Plessis. Shane Watson moved lower down to number three. Curran made a quick-fire 31 runs in just 21 balls smashing three fours and two sixes. He smashed 22 runs in the third over of Khaleel Ahmed hitting two six and two fours in the over. However, Faf was dismissed for a first-ball duck by Sandeep Sharma.
Shane Watson and Ambati Rayudu controlled the CSK innings after the dismissal of the openers. They made 42 and 41 runs respectively and were the top-scorers for the team. MS Dhoni again showed his attacking nature in the game after hitting a huge 102 m six off T Natrajan. However, Dhoni was caught in the mid-off by a low full toss by Natrajan who picked up his dream wicket in IPL 2020.
Later Jadeja took charge of finishing the CSK batting and played a quick-fire 25 runs off just 10 balls. With the help of his innings, CSK made a respectable score of 167/6 at the end of 20 overs. Sandeep, Khaleed, and Natrajan picked two wickets each for SRH.
Also Read:IPL 2020: Rishabh Pant has suffered Grade-1 tear, likely to miss more games for Delhi Capitals
