IPL 2020, SRH v CSK: Who won yesterday's match?
The Chennai Super Kings bounced back to winning ways on Tuesday as they rode on an all-round performance from the side to pick up a 20-run win over the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 29th match of IPL 2020 in Dubai.
SRH were dented early in the chase when skipper Warner was removed by Sam Curran in the fourth over. Three balls later, Manish Pandey was run-out by a fabulous direct hit from Dwayne Bravo, with the West Indian rifling in a throw from covers to bring down the stumps at the non-strikers' end.
At the halfway stage, SRH were 60/3 with Kane Williamson and young Priyam Garg at the crease. The duo put up an important 40-run stand with the New Zealand skipper doing the bulk of the scoring, before Garg was sent back for an 18-ball 16.
SRH needed 67 runs off the last five overs, and with a well-set Williamson out in the middle, CSK were not breathing easy yet. The Kiwi batsman got to his half-century off 35 deliveries in the 17th over, but he holed out to long-on on the first ball off the next over, leaving Rashid Khan and the remaining batsmen 17 balls to chase down 46 runs.
The Afghan spinner and Nadeem did provide some hope for SRH with some blows, but in the end, it was too much to do for the tail-enders as Warner's men fell short by 20 runs.
CSK ride on useful contributions to put on 167/6
Earlier in the game, CSK pulled off a surprise at the top of the order after winning the toss with talented all-rounder Curran partnering Faf du Plessis for the first time in IPL 2020.
The move worked to a certain extent for the MS Dhoni-led side as the southpaw made a 21-ball 31 with three fours and two sixes, getting CSK off to a positive start in the powerplay stages.
However, SRH were the superior side at the end of the powerplay stages, with medium-pacer Sandeep Sharma removing both Curran and du Plessis, as CSK's scorecard read 44/2 at the end of six overs.
Warner's strategy switched from pace to spin for the next seven overs, with Rashid Khan and Shahbaz Nadeem - who replaced Abhishek Sharma in the XI - operating in tandem.
And, with the Afghanistan star spinner carted for two sixes in the 15th over, CSK were well placed for a good total with the score on 116/2 with Rayudu and Watson well set at the crease.
Rayudu (34-ball 41) was dismissed on the second ball of the 16th over, and Watson (38-ball 42) followed him six balls later, but a couple of boundaries from MS Dhoni's blade swung the momentum back in CSK's favour.
Although T Natarajan removed Dhoni (13-ball 21) on the final ball of the 19th over, a couple of handy blows from Ravindra Jadeja (10-ball 25*) helped CSK to 167/6 in the end.
IPL 2020: SRH v CSK, Who won man of the match yesterday?
Ravindra Jadeja's returns in this game against SRH will certainly be a heartening sign for CSK, considering that the all-rounder was yet to show up with both bat and ball.
However, against the Sunrisers, Jadeja was in full flow, smashing a 10-ball 25 to give his side the momentum at the end of their batting effort. With the ball in hand, Jadeja dismissed Jonny Bairstow at a time when the Englishman was looking to switch gears, and eventually, he finished with figures of 1/21 from three overs.
The all-rounder also hung on to two important catches on the outfield, and with contributions in all facets of the game, Ravindra Jadeja was named as the Man of the Match in yesterday's IPL match.