IPL 2018, SRH vs CSK: 5 reasons why Hyderabad lost
The first of the doubleheader today was a matchup between the best batting side and the best bowling side as the Chennai Super Kings took on the Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
Kane Williamson won the toss and invited Chennai to bat. CSK got off to a poor start as they lost both their openers for a paltry score. Things were looking uphill for the 2-time champions when Ambati Rayadu decided to open his arms.
Rayadu played one of the best innings of this year’s IPL and along with Suresh Raina, batted Sunrisers out of the match. Chasing a hefty score, Sunrisers got off to the worst possible start, losing 3 wickets for just 22 runs on the board.
The likes of Kane Williamson, Yusuf Pathan, and Rashid Khan did try to make a match out of it but in the end, the target proved just too much for them. Chennai went on to win the thrilling contest by 4 runs. Let us have a look at 5 reasons why the Sunrisers lost the contest.
#1 Rayadu’s exhilarating knock
Ambati Rayadu came into bat with Chennai struggling at 32/2 in the 8th over. He got his innings going by a pull shot of Rashid Khan through midwicket.
With Chennai failing to get any momentum going in their innings, Rayadu took charge in the middle and smashed the Hyderabad attack to all corners of the ground.
Off his last 16 balls, Rayadu smashed a staggering 48 runs, belting 6 fours and 3 sixes in the process. Rayadu’s knock of 79 runs changed the whole complexion of the game. It was probably the best knock of Rayadu’s IPL journey.