MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings dethroned Royal Challengers Bangalore to go top of the points table once again with a comprehensive win over Sunrisers Hyderabad. CSK beat SRH by seven wickets and nine balls to spare at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Wednesday. After the game, Dhoni was all praise for the wicket in Delhi which at times disappoint. The CSK skipper said that it was ‘surprisingly a good wicket’ as the ball came on to the bat well.
“It was a surprisingly good wicket. Whenever we come to Delhi we never expect a wicket like this. It was coming on nicely, there was nothing for the spinners as well. Good thing was there was no dew,” Dhoni said at the presentation.
Chasing 172 to win, the CSK openers – Faf du Plessis (56 off 38 balls) and Ruturaj Gaikwad (75 off 44 balls) – laid the platform with a 129-run stand. Since then, there was no looking back for the side. After the match, Dhoni also heaped praise on the CSK openers.
“Brilliant opening partnership. Addressing the problem (how the change from last season),” Dhoni added.
Earlier in the day, Hyderabad won the toss and opted to bat first. Despite getting an early respite, Jonny Bairstow could not make it count as he departed early. Making a comeback in the side, Manish Pandey was among the runs as he scored 61 off 46 balls. SRH skipper David Warner also hit a fifty. He scored 57 off 55 balls. It was a late flourish from Kane Williamson and Kedar Jadhav that helped SRH post a challenging 171 for three.
For CSK, Lungi Ngidi was the best bowler in action as he picked up two wickets conceding 35 runs in his quota of four overs.