Chennai Super Kings is the second team to have qualified for the playoffs after Sunrisers Hyderabad and they have defeated the table-toppers to enter the next round. The CSK openers helped them seal the playoff berth by exposing the arguably best bowling unit in the tournament. They have also put an end to SRH's six-match winning streak.

SRH once again had Kane Williamson and Shikhar Dhawan at their disposal while batting and together they formed a massive 123-run partnership from just 75 balls, as the Hyderabad-based franchise registered a total of 179 for 4 wickets. Deepak Hooda was the only other batsman to enter double-digits. He played a crucial 21-run knock off 11 balls while the likes of Manish Pandey and Alex Hales failed to contribute.

Shardul Thakur got two wickets for CSK with Dwayne Bravo and Deepak Chahar joining hunt scalping a wicket each. Chahar gave away only 16 runs in 4 overs while the rest weren’t as effective during their spells.

In reply, CSK showcased yet another impressive batting performance and reached the target with an over to spare. A splendid century from Ambati Rayudu along with another brilliant fifty from Shane Watson got the job done for the men led by MS Dhoni.

Rayudu’s unbeaten 100-run innings was laced with seven boundaries and as many sixes. No bowlers were spared from his wrath and destruction except for Rashid Khan, who was negated carefully as well.

Watson fell victim to a run out on 57 and Sandeep Sharma then dismissed Suresh Raina before he could make any impact on the game. The 134-run opening stand set the stage and the CSK skipper then prevented further wicket-loss and teamed up with Rayudu. Dhoni remained unbeaten on 20 runs as CSK won the match by 8 wickets.

CSK are still at the second position with 16 points after 12 games. SRH still have two-point lead over CSK and will take on Royal Challengers Bangalore in their next game on May 17. CSK will face DD in their penultimate clash on the next day.

 

Scores:

SRH - 179/4 (20 Overs)