IPL 2021: Chennai Super Kings breeze past Sunrisers Hyderabad

Openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis came up with striking half-centuries as the Chennai Super Kings got past Sunrisers Hyderabad and notch their fifth win on the trot on Wednesday night.

Gaikwad scored his second fifty and fifth of the tournament, a 75 from 44 deliveries with 12 boundaries, while du Plessis conjured a 38-ball 56, peppered with six fours and a six as the three-time champions won by seven wickets and nine balls to spare at the Feroz Shah Kotla.

It was du Plessis’ 19th IPL half-century and the third successive fifty of the season and the South African went on top of the run-getters list and took ownership of the Orange Cap from Shikhar Dhawan of the Delhi Capitals.

The Chennai Super Kings retook the top spot on the table from the Royal Challengers Bangalore, while the Sunrisers Hyderabad stayed rooted at the bottom following their fifth defeat and second on the bounce after that Super Over heartbreak against the Delhi Capitals.

The Chennai Super Kings openers Gaikwad and du Plessis came up with the ideal riposte in the chase of 172 by conjuring a mammoth 129-run stand for the first wicket. The pair took the Chennai Super Kings to 50 for no loss in the powerplay and then reached 91 for no loss in the first 10 overs.

Du Plessis ushered in his fifty with a couple off Siddharth Kaul in the next over and he reached the milestone in 32 balls. Gaikwad too brought up his half-century an over later by pulling Jagadeesha Suchith for a boundary.

But Gaikwad fell in the next over, the 13th, after he was castled by Rashid Khan. Gaikwad expected the googly but was deceived by the legbreak and beat him fair and square and knocked his off-stump.

Rashid Khan then struck again to remove Moeen Ali and du Plessis off successive deliveries to finish up with 3-36.

Earlier, Manish Pandey and opener David Warner scored half-centuries to help the Sunrisers Hyderabad post a decent total.

Pandey scored 61 from 46 balls which had five fours and a six, while Warner, the Sunrisers skipper, made 57 from 55 deliveries with the help of three boundaries and two sixes as the 2016 champions came up with 171-3.

Kane Williamson, who had made a valiant unbeaten half-century against the Delhi Capitals in the previous game that went to a Super Over, carted an unbeaten 10-ball 26 with four boundaries and a six. Kedhar Jadhav made an unbeaten 12 from four balls with a boundary and a six.

South African pacer Lungi Ngidi took 2-35.

Southpaw Warner became the fourth player after West Indian pair Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard and Pakistan’s Shoaib Malik to reach 10,000 runs in T20s. The Australian also became the first player to reach 50 fifties in the tournament and also reached the landmark of 200 sixes.

Pandey, who was playing his 150th match in the IPL, and Warner were involved in a 106-run partnership from 87 deliveries for the second wicket after opener Jonny Bairstow had fallen for seven.

England all-rounder Moeen Ali, who had missed the game against the Royal Challengers Bangalore due to a hamstring issue, returned to replace Imran Tahir, while Lungi Ngidi came in for Dwayne Bravo, for the Chennai Super Kings.

The Sunrisers Hyderabad too made two changes with Manish Pandey and Sandeep Sharma returning to the line-up in place of Virat Singh and Abhishek Sharma.

Next up, it is a top drawer clash for the Chennai Super Kings with the three-time winners squaring off against reigning champions Mumbai Indians on Saturday, while Sunrisers Hyderabad meet the Rajasthan Royals on Sunday.

james@khaleejtimes.com

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