IPL 2020, SRH vs CSK: 3 players who flopped | 13 October

Just like Manish Pandey, SRH made some errors and were caught short. [PC: iplt20.com]

The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) needed this. Woefully off colour, not really clicking as a team and languishing near the bottom of the points table, they needed a win.

And by breaking their fixation with continuity and making some crucial changes, CSK delivered by beating the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in convincing fashion.

The first change was captain MS Dhoni winning the toss, and he wasted no time in choosing to bat first. The next one came at the top - Sam Curran, CSK's most exciting player this season, opened the batting and successfully made use of the powerplay.

Watson and Rayudu scored runs, while Jadeja and Dhoni too clobbered a few in one of CSK's most complete batting performances this season. While SRH's pacers were expensive, they regularly pegged back the opposition with wickets.

Arguably, half the match was won by CSK within the powerplay. SRH skipper David Warner and Manish Pandey were out early, while Jonny Bairstow too was kept quiet before being dismissed within the first 10.

Priyam Garg tried unconvincingly, but the real threat came from Kane Williamson and later, a brief Rashid Khan cameo. Ultimately, both got out towards the death, with Dwayne Bravo's incredible one-run-one-wicket final over calming down any nerves for CSK.

In a game between two teams with several issues to address, one emerged having masked them better. Here are the three biggest underperformers from the SRH vs CSK IPL 2020 game.

#3 Manish Pandey (SRH)

Manish Pandey misjudged a single to ensure two of SRH's top three were out cheaply. [PC: iplt20.com]

SRH's designated No. 3 batsman Manish Pandey hasn't had the best of seasons with the bat, with some inconsistent displays marring his obvious ability. In this game, he perished early chasing a par total. Replacing David Warner, he had the opportunity to take ownership of the game situation and cement his value for his team.

Instead, he misjudged a run, and was caught short of his crease by a brilliant fielding effort by Dwayne Bravo. 4 off 3 was all Pandey could manage, as he was run out in the IPL for the first time in more than four years.

His dismissal meant SRH were unable to capitalise in the powerplay, with Bairstow pushed onto the backfoot due to the loss of wickets. Pandey was good in the field, however, as he took a catch and saved several boundaries.

#2 David Warner (SRH)

Though his fielding was strong, Warner disappointed with the bat.

David Warner was the key, along with the duo of Bairstow and Williamson, if SRH were to give the chase a good shot. Unable to attack effectively against Chahar and Sam Curran in the powerplay, Warner was looking to wade through it and punish the loose balls on his way, as he has done several times this IPL.

At 9 off 12 - incidentally, Sam Curran was at a similar stage before he teed off against Khaleel Ahmed - Warner looked to score off Curran. But the ball found his edge and then ballooned off his front pad into the air, creating a simple chance for CSK's star all-rounder.

Warner took a catch in the field as well, but he would be disappointed at being unable to contribute.

#1 Faf du Plessis (CSK)

CSK's batting frontman was dismissed without troubling the scorers on the night.

In all the criticism levied against the CSK batting so far (lacking a sense of intent, inability to maximise the powerplay, struggling to get the momentum going), one man has been excused. Faf du Plessis has stood out in a very inconsistent CSK batting lineup, and was a key figure in both their wins prior to this.

In this game, he had a new and significantly less experienced opening partner, who played out the first two overs for a mere 10 runs. The senior pro could have stepped in and steadied the ship to calm the youngster's nerves.

Instead, Du Plessis played a very tentative shot off the very first ball he faced - half backfoot punch, half block - and the swing on offer meant he could only manage a tame edge through to SRH wicketkeeper Bairstow.

On a rare day when the rest of the CSK batting aligned to perform in unison, their stalwart missed out. From CSK's point of view, however, they would be glad to have put in a complete performance despite Du Plessis' failure.