SYNOPSIS: Sunrisers Hyderabad win in Chennai to make the play-offs, take Gujarat Titans along into the last four
A centre pitch, already used twice this season. It was a dry and slow surface that promised to bring the spinners into the game. So in a fixture of utmost importance to both Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad, the conditions weren’t going to dictate terms. Ruturaj Gaikwad won the toss and chose to put a total on the board and challenge Hyderabad’s gung-ho batting unit to overhaul it.
And Hyderabad responded, showing they are capable of adjusting to different conditions. The 75-run partnership between Ishan Kishan (70 off 47 balls) and Heinrich Klaasen (47 off 26) swung the game Hyderabad’s way. Chennai’s qualification isn’t in their own hands now.
Collective effort
Chennai, for a change, read the conditions well. They didn’t try to aim for a 200-plus total and fall a long way short. Once Sanju Samson provided a rapid start, they paced their innings perfectly with skipper Gaikwad being the lone batter to struggle in the conditions. As has been the case through the season, he had a timid approach in the Powerplay and by the time his innings ended in the 12th over, had only 15 to show off 21 deliveries. It was an innings that forced others to play high-risk game on a pitch that seldom encouraged it.
As Chennai paced their innings, due credit had to be given to the Hyderabad attack for not allowing them to run away with the game. Pat Cummins, a master when it comes to reading conditions, showed the way for his young pace pack. Realising the slowness of the pitch and the big boundaries either side, the plan from the SRH bowlers was simple: just keep one side of the wicket in the game.
It wasn’t an easy plan to pull off, but the inexperienced pace attack pulled it off admiringly well. They bowled short deliveries with pace taken off, as the Chennai batters managed only two boundaries through the mid-wicket region. One that went to fine leg was off a top edge.
Dewald Brevis of Chennai Super Kings and Shivam Dube of Chennai Super Kings during Match 57. (Photo by Faheem Hussain / CREIMAS for IPL)
Gaikwad’s grinding knock aside, it was a collective effort from the Chennai batters that took them to 180/7. None of them had fifties to show, but Samson (27), Kartik Sharma (32), Dewald Brevis (44) and Shivam Dube (26) scored vital runs.
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With boundaries and sixes hard to come by, it needed one of them to bring out a high-risk approach and providing it were Kartik and Brevis. Walking in at No.4 when Hyderabad had the upper hand, Kartik’s cameo provided momentum. And once he was dismissed, Brevis took over that role. He looked set for a big one until Eshan Malinga’s reverse-swinging delivery rattled his stumps.
Plan B for Hyderabad
During the innings break with giant ropes staying off sight, it was evident the conditions were only going to get slower. Under the circumstances, Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head could have given Hyderabad an early advantage. But the Aussie departed in the third over for 6 and Abhishek, despite finding three boundaries and a six in his stay of 21 deliveries, struggled for tempo before falling to Akeal Hosein.
That dismissal brought together Kishan and Klaasen. When the South African walked into the middle in the eight over, the run rate was hovering around 7.5 and at the half-way mark, Hyderabad had 75/2. For them to cross the line, they needed one of the two to play an innings that defied the conditions. And with Kishan finding the perfect tempo in the middle, it was Klaasen who played the knock that proved to be the difference. Dropped on 18 by Spencer Johnson, he scored at a strike rate of 180.76 and gave Hyderabad the required impetus.
Ishan Kishan of Sunrisers Hyderabad play a shot during Match 63 of the TATA Indian Premier League 2026. (Photo by Surjeet Yadav / CREIMAS for IPL)
Unlike the Hyderabad attack, which read the conditions and bowled cutters, Chennai’s attack didn’t show any of that creativity. Despite the slowness of the surface, they seemed content to stick to their strengths and paid the price. Klaasen, amongst the most consistent performers in this season, came to the party again.
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Though his departure provided Chennai an opening, Kishan ensured there weren’t any twists. At one point, he was 32 off 26, struggling to get used to the pace of the pitch. But once he settled, he didn’t hold back. If Chennai tried to deny him anything in his swinging arc, he was happy to play them safely. And when Hyderabad needed him to show the way, he was in absolute command. He couldn’t stay till the end, but had done his job.
Brief scores: Chennai Super Kings 180/7 (20 overs), Dewal Brevis 44, Pat Cummins 3/28. Sunrisers Hyderabad 181/5 (19 overs), Ishan Kishan 70. Mukesh Choudhary 2/36
