Despite an impressive debut by Dewald Brevis and Ayush Mhatre’s strong start in his second game, Chennai Super Kings failed to pull themselves out of the mire. With only three toss wins this year, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) took advantage of the dry pitch to defeat CSK in Chennai for the first time and revive their own campaign that had only seen two wins in eight matches. Scoring 154 runs, CSK recorded their third-lowest total of the season.
Harshal Patel excelled in analyzing the middle of the pitch, resulting in impressive figures of 4-0-28-4. Pat Cummins also made a valuable contribution to the team by dismissing the formidable Mhatre and delivering two overs without conceding any boundaries in the 16th and 18th, finishing with figures of 4-0-21-2. Similarly, Kamindu Mendis continued to dazzle spectators with his ambidextrous bowling skills, taking down Ravindra Jadeja before making an incredible catch at long-off to dismiss Brevis.
Despite Shaik Rasheed being dismissed on the first ball, Mhatre led CSK to a promising start. However, SRH wasted no time in delivering challenging pitches. Brevis was the only one who excelled in those conditions and against the bowling attack, smashing four sixes in his score of 42 runs off 25 balls. This included three sixes in Kamindu’s third over, after not conceding any boundaries in the first two overs.
Brevis appeared to be a formidable threat as he sent a slower bouncer soaring over extra cover for six. However, his triumphant streak was short-lived as Harshal delivered a slot ball that Brevis struck flat and hard. In a quick reaction, Kamindu lunged to his left at long-off and made an impressive catch behind his body, securing the out.
Following Brevis’ removal, the SRH bowlers tightened their grip with their taller players delivering strong pitches. Unadkat took down Shivam Dube while Harshal dismissed MS Dhoni. Hooda and Khaleel Ahmed managed to add 17 runs for the final wicket, but it fell short of the necessary push they required.