Sunrisers Hyderabad put together a complete performance to upstage table-toppers Chennai Super Kings by 22 runs at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, Uppal on Saturday night.
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Captain and opener David Warner led the run charge with a belligerent 61 off 28 balls as Hyderabad powered to 192-7. Their bowlers and fielders then stuck to their tasks well and derailed the Chennai chase by taking wickets at regular intervals.
Faf du Plessis (33 off 22 balls) was Chennai’s top scorer as they finished at 170-6. The win has put Hyderabad in contention for a playoff spot as they are placed fifth (eight points from eight games), behind Chennai (12 from nine), Rajasthan Royals (12 from 10), Royal Challengers Bangalore (nine from eight) and Kolkata Knight Riders (nine from nine).
Excellent win Sunrisers.Good positive intent displayed right from the start of the game.Good death bowling.Keep it up @SunRisers #IPL2015
— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) May 2, 2015
Playing their first game at their headquarters, Hyderabad started strongly with Warner and Shikhar Dhawan (37 off 32 balls) raising 86 in 8.1 overs for the first wicket.
Warner opened his account with a cracking pull and went on to play some stunning shots cutting the ball hard, driving fluently down the ground and punishing short deliveries through mid-wicket. He picked off Chennai’s opening bowlers Mohit Sharma and Ashish Nehra, smashing them for 49 runs in 19 balls.
The Australian raced to his half-century in 20 balls smacking eleven boundaries and a six before holing out in the deep to part-timer Suresh Raina. Moises Henriques (19 off 9 balls) and Eoin Morgan (32 off 27) maintained the momentum as Hyderabad raced to their highest total of the season.
Dwayne Bravo withstood the assault returning impressive figures of 3-25, catapulting him to the top of the wicket-takers list. He has 14 wickets and shares the top spot with team-mate Ashish Nehra.
And here’s how it went down. #OrangeArmy #SRHvsCSK #KiraakMoment pic.twitter.com/ei3aSH2JrE
— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) May 2, 2015
Morgan feels the manner in which they dismantled Chennai at home will boost the team’s confidence immensely as they look to improve their position in the standings.
The win at their place augurs well for Hyderabad, who will be playing their last three games at the same venue.
“Obviously, getting the result our way is a great start to our campaign at home. But to get it in the fashion that we did is probably better,” Morgan said after the game.
“Playing Chennai Super Kings is not always an easy task. They are a team of world beaters and to come out winning the way we did tonight is something we can take a lot of confidence from. Our bowlers tonight were outstanding. They performed well on a wicket that didn’t really have much going for them.
“They built pressure and picked wickets at crucial periods of time. We did have a little bit of luck going our way but we took advantage of it,” he told iplt20.com.
