CHENNAI: When Chennai Super Kings huffed and puffed to a total of 165, the expectation was that Hyderabad would also struggle on the black soil surface. However, the hosts, who had rocked and rolled their way to a league-high 277 in an adjacent red-soil strip on March 27, continued to make merry under the lights.
Abhishek Sharma broke the back of the chase with a stunning assault inside the first three overs. After that, the other batters did what was required to chase down the total with 30 balls to spare. The win means they join Chennai, Lucknow, Punjab and Gujarat on four points.
When Pat Cummins won the toss, he had no hesitation in sending the opponents in. Chennai has a high-intent batting line-up; as a team, they are one of the best six-hitters since the 2021 campaign. On days like this, though, the absence of a power-hitter at the top can be felt. Rachin Ravindra, the side's designated powerplay hitter, has had a decent start but his wicket was a sign of things to come.
The southpaw tried to access down the ground to a back of a length delivery. The ball got big on him and he ended up offering a catch to mid-on off Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Most of the visiting batters couldn't get their timing or rhythm going; it all resembled a band playing some of their greatest hits with a broken sound system.
Ajinkya Rahane, who has reinvented himself as a pace-hitter, just couldn't find the oxygen his innings desperately needed. In the end, his dismissal was a result of what the Hyderabad pacers had done all night. Slower deliveries into the surface as well as pace-off deliveries. Rahane's attempted heave over cover was a miscue and backward point settled under it.
Only Shivam Dube (four sixes) generated the kind of bat speed to clear the fence but the others combined to hit only two sixes across 16 overs. A couple of questions should also be asked of the management. Why did they promote Ravindra Jadeja when Moeen Ali was an option? Why was MS Dhoni, who enthralled the crowd in Visakhapatnam a few days ago, sent in with only three balls remaining?
166 could have been a tricky total on a wicket like this but Abhishek rendered it academic within the first 15 balls of the chase. Representing a new age of Indian batters who take pride in their ability to hit sixes, he hit four off the 12 balls he faced, including three off Mukesh Choudhary, who had come in as an Impact Sub.
Travis Head and Aiden Markram carried on after that to end any hopes of an unlikely comeback. While Chennai's next match is against Kolkata, Hyderabad travel to Punjab.
Brief scores: Chennai 165/5 in 20 ovs (Ruturaj 26, Rahane 35, Dube 45, Jadeja 31 n.o) lost to Hyderabad 166/4 in 18.1 ovs (Head 31, Abhishek 37, Markram 50).