SRH vs CSK

12:02 AM local time and IST: So that will be all from this pulsating game in Hyderabad! We have another double-header on Sunday, 19 April. First, at the Eden Gardens from 3:30 PM local time, it will be Kolkata Knight Riders taking on Rajasthan Royals. Then, from New Chandigarh at 7:30 PM local time, Punjab Kings will be up against Lucknow Super Giants. Do join us for both. This is Bala and Bidipto taking your leave for now. Keep following Sportskeeda! 

Eshan Malinga (Player of the Match, 3/29 in 4 overs): "Before the match, as a bowling unit, we had our plans. We also know how this Hyderabad wicket plays, and, I stuck to those plans. Ishan came up to me and asked what kind of deliveries I would bowl, and we set our fields accordingly. The reverse swing is important for me. If it reverses, it becomes that much more difficult for the batters to hit the ball." 

Ishan Kishan (Sunrisers Hyderabad captain): "Lovely! When you have a bunch of young bowlers, but they deliver like that, it feels great! We should have got to a bigger score. At least 20 runs short. Looking at the young bowlers in the practice sessions, they are doing a lot of work to execute their plans. So, the effort is coming off. There are areas to improve, particularly with the bat. We are not looking at the points table right now, we are taking it match by match." 

Nitish Kumar Reddy (Sunrisers Hyderabad): "It’s been a complete team effort and most importantly, we’re on the winning side. The idea was to bowl according to the situation and trust the field that was set. It was all about execution today, and thankfully it came off really well. The pitch played nicely. I initially thought it might grip and assist the spinners, but the fast bowlers did a fantastic job. It was a good surface to bat on as well, but our bowlers stuck to their plans and executed better. From outside, the message was very clear, just hit that top-of-off length consistently and don’t try to do too much. Once we did that, things turned around and we picked up a couple of key wickets in the powerplay. (On Shivang Kumar) He’s been really impressive. He’s got great temperament and always wants to be involved in the game. His mystery spin is adding a lot of value for us, and hopefully he continues this form through the tournament."

Ruturaj Gaikwad (Chennai Super Kings captain): "The way the powerplay went with the ball, I was thinking they were headed for 220–230. To pull it back by 30 runs was a fantastic effort. On this ground, on this pitch, I’d take anything under 200 any day. It’s disappointing. At one stage, the required rate was around 8 with six wickets in hand. From there, it was about building a couple of partnerships and keeping the opposition under pressure. But those two overs after the 10-over mark really changed the game. We managed just four runs there, and that shifted the momentum. After that, going into the death overs needing 12–13 an over was always going to be tough. Credit to them, they bowled really well at the back end. On the bowling unit, it’s been three successive games now where they’ve stepped up. Even today, despite Abhishek batting brilliantly in the powerplay, I don’t think we gave away too many loose deliveries. Once we got a bit of momentum, we capitalised well. Everyone chipped in – Jamie, Gurjapneet, Noor, and Anshul at the end. It was a solid collective effort. Anshul Kamboj has been a big positive. He’s working really hard, especially on his death bowling. You don’t often get bowlers who are so clear in their plans and can tell the captain, ‘I’ve got this.’ That’s really reassuring. He’s improving day by day, and it’s great to have him in the side. We had our chances today, but it didn’t go our way. Hopefully we can bounce back in the next game."

11:31 PM local time and IST: Sunrisers Hyderabad win by 10 runs!

Abhishek Sharma 59 (22) | Eshan Malinga - 3/29 (4)
Matthew Short 34 (30) | Anshul Kamboj - 3/22 (3)

It was thought that 200 was bare minimum on this surface. But Sunrisers Hyderabad never lost belief! And in the end, were able to pick up their second win in a row at home!

On the flip side, Chennai Super Kings, after scoring well over 70 runs in the power play, slipped up badly, and lost the game by a margin of double digits! Three straight losses away from home for the 5-time champions.

Praful Hinge learnt a lesson tonight, as he went for over 50 runs in his first 3 overs, without taking a wicket! Sakib Hussain didn't have the best of first overs either. But, the way Sakib came back in his last two overs, and, the way Praful managed to hold on to his nerve in the final over of the game and defend the total! 

But the bowling from Nitish Kumar Reddy and Eshan Malinga, was top notch! Both hit the right lengths, and bowled slower balls exactly when needed. Shivang Kumar was in the thick of things once again, with an economical spell! 

The fielding could definitely have been better, but, some crucial catches, and some decent stops at crucial times, helped SRH close things out! 

CSK got off to a strong start! Sanju Samson failed again, which is a cause of concern, but Ayush Mhatre dazzled! But, that hamstring pull at the wrong time brought about his downfall, also thanks to a spectacular catch at mid-off by Heinrich Klaasen! 

But once again, the concerning failure, was captain Ruturaj Gaikwad's! A 13-ball 19 is not the best of returns by any means, especially from an opening batter. The team management may just think about pushing him down the order now. 

As for the middle-overs batting by the middle-order, the wheels came off! Some shots got played when they shouldn't have been. Some shots were held back when they shouldn't have been. Intent got shown at times when it was time to be cautious, and calmness was missing when the pressure was on. 

Players like Shivam Dube and Dewald Brevis, who are expected to shoulder more responsibility finish games, have faltered in a run chase, once again. More so, Dube. That doesn't help matters for them.

So, even against a relatively young and inexperienced bowling attack, CSK maintain their unwanted record of being unable to chase down a total of 190 or more, since 2018.