Chennai Super Kings suffered their second defeat in the IPL 2019 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Wednesday. CSK lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad by six wickets with 19 balls to spare.
CSK remain at the top of the IPL table, their four point in the lead. The win pushed SRH, together with Kolkata Knight Riders in the fifth spot on the table, on the basis of net run rate after this result. The win put SRH back into the race for the playoffs.
Chennai Super Kings who batted first managed just 132 runs for five wickets in their allotted 20 overs. In a surprise move, CSK rested skipper MS Dhoni due to a back spasm he picked up in CSK’s last match. MSD missed his first match for CSK since 2010. Suresh Raina was the stand in captain.
While batting first Shane Watson and Faf du Plessis had given CSK a good start, they ended at 31 and 45 respectively. However, both fell in quick succession putting CSK at 81/2 in the 11th over. After the openers wickets Chennai failed to build the score. Afghan spinner Rashid Khan picked two wickets, 2/17. While, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Khaleel Ahmed kept a tab on the run rate in the last few overs.
While chasing a modest target of 133, SRH openers David Warner and Jonny Bairstow put up a 50 run partnership within the first five overs, effectively downplaying the slower wicket. Bairstow stayed on till the end to make sure the home team ends up in a win.
Imran Tahir accounted for the wickets of Kane Williamson and Vijay Shankar.