SRH defeat Chennai Super Kings to keep playoff hopes alive

Sunrisers Hyderabad stayed in the playoff hunt with a tense five-wicket victory over Chennai Super Kings at Chepauk Stadium on Friday, dealing a crushing blow to CSK’s slim postseason hopes in the process.

Chennai entered the match as slight underdogs with cricket bookmakers, having lost six of their first eight games of the IPL season. Their batting struggles continued early, as Shaik Rasheed fell for a golden duck on the second ball of the innings. Sam Curran (9 off 10) and Ayush Mhatre (30 off 19) soon followed, leaving CSK floundering at 3/47.

Ravindra Jadeja (21 off 17) and Dewald Brevis (42 off 25) added some stability in the middle order, but wickets continued to fall at regular intervals. Chennai lost a batter in each of the final four overs and managed just 27 runs from the last 30 balls, finishing with a modest 7/154.

Despite a few wobbles, Sunrisers Hyderabad managed to chase down the target with an over to spare. Abhishek Sharma (0 off 2) survived the first ball but was dismissed by Noor Ahmad on the second. Travis Head (19 off 16) and Heinrich Klaasen (7 off 8) also fell cheaply, leaving SRH vulnerable at 3/54.

However, Ishan Kishan (44 off 34) anchored the innings alongside Aniket Verma (19 off 19), setting the stage for Kamindu Mendis (32* off 22) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (19* off 13) to seal the win in the 19th over.

“It was great. Few things came together tonight, boys played well,” SRH captain Pat Cummins said post-match. “Thought it was pretty clinical. Couple of guys at the top wanted to take the game on but the boys shifted defensive and did really well. Our record against CSK isn’t that great so it’s good to fix that one up. We wish we finished that more comfortably, but overall, happy with that win.”

Sunrisers remain eighth on the IPL ladder with six points, but their playoff hopes are still alive. IPL bookmakers now price SRH at +6700 to win the title following Friday’s victory.

Chennai’s season, however, is virtually over. The five-time champions now sit last on the table, with Nags.bet offering a massive +50000 for CSK to lift the trophy—a price that reflects the near-impossibility of a late-season turnaround.

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