Ishan Kishan’s 47-ball 70 hands them five-wicket victory; Gujarat Titans also qualify
Chennai: Sunrisers Hyderabad stormed into the IPL playoffs with a five-wicket victory over Chennai Super Kings at the M A Chidambaram Stadium here on Monday, as Ishan Kishan produced a composed 70 off 47 balls in a tense chase. The win took SRH to 16 points from 13 matches and also confirmed Gujarat Titans’ place in the playoffs.
Chasing 181, SRH reached the target with an over to spare, thanks largely to Ishan’s controlled innings and Heinrich Klaasen’s explosive 46 off 26 deliveries. After a cautious start that saw him score only 32 from his first 26 balls, Ishan accelerated smartly and stitched a decisive 75-run stand off just 41 balls with Klaasen for the third wicket. CSK were made to pay for dropping Klaasen on 18, when Spencer Johnson grassed a chance off Noor Ahmad.
Earlier, Chennai Super Kings recovered from a middle-order slowdown to post 180 for seven after an aggressive start. Pat Cummins led SRH’s bowling effort brilliantly with three for 28, mixing slower balls and cutters effectively while delivering 15 dot balls on a surface that became slower as the innings progressed.
Sanju Samson gave CSK a flying start before edging Cummins behind, while Urvil Patel struck two sixes before falling to Sakib Hussain. Chennai slipped from 57 for two in the powerplay to 91 for three at the halfway stage as boundaries dried up. Dewald Brevis then revived the innings with a fluent 44 in a 59-run partnership with Shivam Dube.
