Our Correspondent
Chennai Super Kings stamped a 20-run victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Dubai International Stadium on October 13 night. Tight bowling by CSK made the target of 168 difficult for Hyderabad; Chennai bowlers harvested wickets and made victory unreachable for Hyderabad.
Chennai decided to bat first and posted 167 for six. The early loss of Faf du Plessis for a duck was a disappointment, but Sam Curran (31 off 21), Shane Watson (42 off 38) and Ambati Rayudu (42 off 34) helped. Watson and Rayudu had an 81-run stand.
For SRH, the crucial wickets of captain David Warner (9 off 13 balls), Manish Pandey (4 off 3 balls, run out) and Jonny Bairstow (23 off 24 balls) went too soon. Kane Williamson (57 of 39, seven 4s) tried to save the match for his team but his lone battle was not enough. Rashid Khan (14 off 8 balls) and Kane Williamson gave some hope to Sunrisers but they were dismissed in the final overs. Rashid Khan got out twice in one ball – he hit the stumps and also got caught.
Spinner Karn Sharma yielding 19 runs in the 18th over made Captain Dhoni lose his cool. Karn and Dwayne Bravo (2/25) took two wickets each while Shardul Thakur, Curran and Jadeja got a wicket each.
Ravindra Jadeja was adjudged Man of the match for his unbeaten 21 off 10 balls and 1/21 in three overs; he got the big wicket of Jonny Bairstow.
CSK fan paints his house yellow
Three-time champions CSK had been suffering a string of losses and the latest win is a morale booster. CSK players should happy there is a loyal fan base that believes in them despite the troll from some quarters.
“Super Fan Gopi Krishnan and his family in Arangur, Tamil Nadu call their residence Home of Dhoni Fan and rightly so. A super duper tribute that fills our hearts with #yellove. #WhistlePodu #WhistleFromHome,” CSK wrote on Twitter along with photographs of the house.
