Two wins in two years for SRH over CSK at Chepauk — and both while chasing. A clinical performance once again and with this victory, Sunrisers Hyderabad book their spot in the playoffs alongside Gujarat Titans. RCB, GT and SRH now all have that ‘Q’ next to their names. For CSK, this defeat is a major blow to their playoff hopes.
MS Dhoni was present at the ground, briefly stepping out for the team photograph during the innings break but didn’t feature in the game or make any announcement. Perhaps we might see him in action at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
That leaves the fourth playoff spot wide open. A massive clash awaits tomorrow as Rajasthan Royals host LSG in Jaipur.
For now, this is Pritam Dey signing off on behalf of my co-commentators Akshay Bhide and Ninaad Dixit who, along with scorers/analysts Paras Yadav and Manish Bishnoi & statistician Aman brought all the updates of this clash. Stay tuned for more cricketing action from around the world. BYE BYE👋
Ishan Kishan (Player of the Match): [on changing pace] "When I was keeping, I figured out chasing won't be too easy. Wicket wasn't too easy when spinners were bowling. At the same time as a number 3 batter my job is to try and finish the game. Batters coming in the back end, it's not easy for them to take singles and at the same time hit boundaries so I had to just play till the last over.
[on his adjustment as a batter] It was just about being there, believing in yourself. Sometimes your situation is difficult but we know how these games are won. You need to believe in yourself. You cannot doubt yourself at any point of time so I just tried to keep it simple, try and bat as many overs as I can. As a left hander being in the middle, it's difficult for the bowlers to keep their areas right every time so I was just keeping it simple and trying to play till the last over.
[on the conversation with Klaasen] There was no conversation. We were just playing ou shots. Sometimes I feel it's about motivation and for me, my motivation was today my cousin who is standing there. He lost his sister. It was a tough time in the family, they are watching the match for the first time so I wanted to finish the game for them and I'm glad they were here to witness this innings and I was able to finish this game and I was blessed from upstairs. I had that sense of power. If we will qualify he will be happy about it."
Player of the Match: Ishan Kishan
Pat Cummins (Sunrisers Hyderabad Captain): "(On this victory) Yeah, really satisfied with the victory. It was a bit different to how we normally play. It was a pretty tough wicket there to bat. I thought the way the guys, Klaasy (Klaasen) and Ishan chased down, it was really gutsy. So, very happy.
(Was that partnership between Klaasen and Ishan the most crucial period in the game) Yeah. It was really tough in the middle. We needed a couple of good partnerships to get going. It was difficult for the new batters. They chose the bowlers and played some ridiculous shots.
(Did he speak to the batting group after the previous game?) Yeah, I wouldn't say that we are famous for taking responsibilities but we bat well. Of course, when we were bowling, we saw that some balls were staying a little bit low. It was gripping. I told them not to go out there and just bang it. Credit to the batters, especially Ishan and Klaasy.
(Was he happy with 180?) Umm, again, I felt like it came down to 1 or 2 partnerships. We did take 180 as we felt that it was near about par on that wicket or maybe just a little bit over par.
(Was he surprised with Ruturaj's toss decision?) Umm, no. Obviously they play here, so they know the wicket far better. There has been a lot of successful teams who have come here and chased down totals. So, we were happy to chase.
(On qualifying for the playoffs) Yeah, that's it. You can't give yourself enough chances than what we got. We have one more game left. Hopefully we will win that and try to get into that top 2. We get into the playoffs and then the real hard work starts. Ishan led this team more than me this season so credit goes to him as well. Good feeling.
(Any areas of improvement) It's always a few things. There was a couple of overs where we missed our mark. We could've assessed the wicket a lot better then but overall, I am happy."
Most Dot Balls in the Match: Pat Cummins (15 Dot Balls)
Super Fours of the Match: Ishan Kishan (7 Fours)
Super Sixes of the Match: Dewald Brevis (4 Sixes)
Super Striker of the Match: Sanju Samson (SR 207.69)
11:51 PM IST, Local Time: Time for the post-match presentation.