IPL 2018, Qualifier 1, SRH vs CSK: 5 reasons why Hyderabad lost to Chennai

It was built as the clash of the best batting side and the best bowling side of the tournament as the Chennai Super Kings took on the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the first Qualifier at the Wankhede stadium.

MS Dhoni won the toss and decided to field first, hoping for the dew factor to kick in the second innings. Hyderabad got off to the worst possible start as Shikhar Dhawan was dismissed on the very first ball of the match.

Kane Williamson too could not come up with the goods this time as he was strangled down the leg side. The Sunrisers kept on losing wickets at regular intervals. A late blitzkrieg from Carlos Brathwaite helped them post a score of 139 runs on the board. In reply, Chennai got off to a poor start as they lost their top order with just 24 runs on the board.

Dhoni could not do much of note as well as his stumps were disturbed by Rashid Khan. The match looked lost to CSK but Faf du Plessis had some other plans. His brilliant innings single-handedly got Chennai home with 5 balls to spare in what turned out to be a thrilling contest. Let us have a look at five reasons why Sunrisers lost the contest.

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#1 Top order fails to rise to the occasion

The Sunrisers are a top-heavy side when it comes to batting. The likes of Shikhar Dhawan and Kane Williamson have carried Hyderabad’s batting on their shoulders throughout the season.

However, they could not repeat their heroics today as Dhawan dragged the first ball of the match on to his stumps. His opening partner Shreevats Goswami played a rash shot and gave a simple return catch to Lungi Ngidi.

Kane Williamson looked good at the crease and got a few boundaries away. But he was unlucky, as he was caught by Dhoni in a strangle down the leg side. Hyderabad lost 3 wickets with just 36 runs on the board and it was always going to be an uphill task from there on.

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