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In match number 63, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) hosted Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. It was a must-win game for both sides. But the Orange Army got the better of Ruturaj Gaikwad’s team as they won by 5 wickets and qualified for the playoffs, helping Gujarat Titans also qualify.
CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad won the toss and decided to bat first. He made a single change by bringing in Akeel Hosein in place of Gurjanpeet Singh. SRH made no changes from their previous match. It was a reverse match as both the sides had previously met each other in Hyderabad, where the Orange Army defeated Chennai by 10 runs.
Ruturaj Gaikwad failed to score
Sanju Samson and Ruturaj Gaikwad came out to bat as the former gave a great start to the Men in Yellow. Samson scored 27 runs in 13 balls and the breakthrough was provided by SRH captain Pat Cummins. Despite a good start, Urvil Patel was out after scoring 13 runs, but could not convert his start into a big score.
After this, Karthik Sharma and Ruturaj made a partnership of 42 runs, out of which Karthik scored 32 runs on 19 balls. He was again dismissed by Cummins and soon Ruturaj Gaikwad, who was struggling in the match as he could not find the rhythm, was back on the score of 15 as he failed to hit a single four in his innings.
Dewald Brewis and Shivam Dubey decided to change gears. Brewis scored 44 runs on 27 balls and Dubey scored 26 runs. The men in yellow managed a total of 180/7 in their 20 overs, with Prashant Veer scoring 11 runs from 9 balls. He was disappointed at being 15-20 runs short.
Ishan Kishan seals deal for SRH
Chasing the target, Abhishek Sharma made a fast start in the second innings. Travis Head, who could not trouble the CSK bowlers, returned after scoring 6 runs. Ishan Kishan and Abhishek tried to build a partnership as after the pressure built, Ishan Kishan returned to the pavilion on 26 runs. Kishan and Heinrich Klaasen made a partnership of 50 runs in 28 balls.
The duo then kept the runs flowing, adding a partnership of 75(41) before Klaasen was dismissed by a brilliant stumping by Sanju Samson on 47 off 26 balls. Kishan completed his half-century in 37 balls and kept the scorecard going. He was out for 70, but took his team home, and possibly even knocked CSK out of the tournament.
The game of cricket was good – Ruturaj Gaikwad
Ruturaj Gaikwad was happy with the game, as he was proud of his boys and felt that they lost the match in the second last over as they could not put pressure on the opposition.
Ruturaj said, “It was a good game of cricket. It was a good T20 pitch, not much changed. Just a few misses, but still proud of the boys. Needed to convert the opportunity after the opposition fell, but couldn’t. Honestly, there are a lot of positives.”
“Samson has been playing really well for us. Missed some key players. It depends on a lot of factors. Everyone played their hearts out today, proud of the boys. The fans supported us in good and bad times. We were much better this year than last year.”
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