Ruturaj Gaikwad might have missed out on a well-deserved second consecutive ton, but the Chennai Super Kings skipper regaled the sell-out crowd with a scintillating 98 (54b, 10x4, 3x6) to set up a commanding 78-run win for his side over Sunrisers Hyderabad at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium here on Sunday.
The skipper was well supported by Daryl Mitchell (52, 32b, 7x4, 1x6), who finally found form as they combined to forge a 107-run stand for the second wicket. Later, Shivam Dube (39 n.o., 20b, 1x4, 4x6) gave the innings the final flourish as the Super Kings posted 212 for three.
In reply, Sunrisers’ chase stuttered from the beginning with Tushar Deshpande’s triple strike (three for 23) in the PowerPlay. Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma picked two sixes off his first three balls off the pacer, but Deshpande came back strongly to remove Head and Anmolpreet Singh off successive deliveries. In the next over, the he dismissed Abhishek, caught by Mitchell at deep-point, to rattle the visitors.
