Mumbai, Apr 9 (IANS): Fine bowling by Sunrisers Hyderabad bowlers restricted Chennai Super Kings to a paltry score of 154/7 in 20 overs in Match 17 of IPL 2022 at the D.Y Patil Stadium here on Saturday.
In search of their first win in the IPL 2022, four-time champion Chennai Super Kings openers Robin Uthappa and Ruturaj Gaikwad started the proceedings cautiously as both were hesitant to open their hands. Both the CSK batters played senior pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar with respect but tried to smash Marco Jansen all over the park.
Seeing the opponents' intentions, Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Kane Williamson brought in right-arm off-spinner Washington Sunder into the attack very early. And the Chennai-born bowler delivered with his first ball when he trapped the dangerous-looking Robin Uthappa.
Uthappa tried to slog a tossed-up delivery from Sunder, completely miscued it as it came off the bottom of the bat and went to the long-on where Markram was waiting for a simple catch. CSK lost their first wicket when scores were just 25 on the board in the fourth over.
However, it did not deter Gaikwad from playing his shots. He was trying hard to make the run rate steady, smashing two fours off Jansen. He was in control till T. Natarajan came to attack. And with a beautiful in-swinger, the left-hand bowler dismantled castled Gaikwad.
The weakness against the left-hand pacer again come to the fore for Gaikwad, who did not handle a perfect in-swinger from Natarajan, leaving a wide gap between bat and pad, only to see his middle stump uprooted.
After his departure, Moeen Ali started the rescue work. He and Ambati Rayudu built a good partnership with odd fours and sixes.
Using his international captaincy experience, Williamson made regular bowling changes that made it difficult for CSK batters who were struggling to make runs. Bowler Umran Mallik, with his brisk pace again, made it very difficult for batters like Moeen Ali and Rayudu to play their shots.
For CSK, Moeen Ali (48 runs, 35 balls) and Ambati Rayudu (27 runs, 27 balls) made some impactful batting, hitting odd boundaries and sixes. A 62-run partnership for the third wicket between Ali and Rayudu came as a respite for the four-time champions. Apart from this, none of the CSK batters applied themselves against the new-look bowling unit of SRH and eventually got out.
T. Natarajan and Washington Sunder were at their best, scalping two wickets each for SRH while Markram, Marco Jansen and Bhuvneshwar Kumar got one wicket each.
When M.S Dhoni and current skipper Ravindra Jadeja were at the crease, fans were expecting some lusty blows from them, but Dhoni failed to live up to the expectations and got out cheaply.
CSK skipper Ravindra Jadeja was looking good with his bat but it seems that captaincy brings a burden on his shot-playing skills. When it mattered the most, he once again failed to contribute, making only 23 runs in 15 balls. In the end there was nothing left for D.J Bravo and Chris Jordan to do.
Brief scores: Chennai Super Kings 154/7 in 20 overs (Moeen Ali 48, Ambati Rayudu 27, Ravindra Jadeja 23; Washington Sundar 2/21, T Natarajan 2/30) against Sunrisers Hyderabad.