IPL 2018, CSK Vs SRH: 5 talking points
Sunrisers Hyderabad took on Chennai Super Kings in the first qualifier of the 2018 IPL edition at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai.
The two teams had topped the points table after the group stages and hence this was expected to be a pulsating encounter, and boy did they live up to that billing.
After a below par performance with the bat, the SRH bowlers made the Chennai batsmen dance to their tunes and almost managed to eke out a victory for their team. So without further ado, let's have a look at the major talking points from the game.
#5 SRH have a torrid start with the bat
After winning the toss, Dhoni did not hesitate to put SRH to bat first. Wankhede generally has historically been a batsman's paradise, but this time around, the bowlers have had a greater say here especially in the initial few overs.
Chennai bowlers were on the prowl right from the word go and backed their captain's decision by taking wickets at regular intervals.
Shikhar Dhawan, who has been in pretty good form of late was scalped by Deepak Chahar for a golden duck while Goswami was accounted for by Lungi Ngidi.
Once their captain was dismissed, their fragile middle order did not show enough stomach for a fight, failing to inject any momentum into the innings or building any partnerships worth notable.
Credit must be given to the CSK bowlers for maintaining tight lines and lengths, not allowing the batsmen to score runs freely. Manish Pandey continued his barren run of form and persisted after scoring a scratchy 8 off 16 balls.
Pathan, too, looked fidgety in his batting but managed to contribute 24 runs to the total. Although their bowlers bowled their hearts out, the SRH thinktank will go back to drawing board with worried faces about their batting lineup for the Eliminator.