CSK vs SRH IPL 2023: A walk in the park for Chennai Super Kings against Sunrisers Hyderabad | Cricket News – Times of India

CHENNAI: He knows the conditions here like the back of his hand, and made sure he exploited all that the pitch offered to him. Ravindra Jadeja bowled a masterly four-over spell, choking the flow of runs and prising out three key wickets to restrict the Sunrisers Hyderabad to 134-7. Later, Devon Conway struck a free-flowing unbeaten half-century (77 runs off 57 balls, 12×4, 1×6) as the Chennai Super Kings romped home with 7 wickets in hand at the MA Chidambaram stadium on Friday night.
With four wins in six games under their belt, CSK will breathe easy and will start planning for an onslaught for the top-two spots. SRH, on the other hand, with only two wins, have a lot to think about.
On Friday evening, Jadeja dismissed the only two SRH batters who looked somewhat settled at the crease — Abhishek Sharma (34) and Rahul Tripathi (21) — with deliveries that gripped the surface and induced top edges. He then had Mayank Agarwal stumped after almost dislodging him four balls earlier with a caught-and-bowled that wasn’t to be, as non-striker Heinrich Klaasen came in the way.

The all-format allrounder saw Agarwal dancing down the track in the 14th over and fired one short of a length outside off to eventually get his man, and conceded just 22 runs in his unbroken spell.
While Jadeja was the runaway star, Sri Lankan slinger Matheesha Pathirana (1-22) showed what he is capable of. He still has some way to go before being dubbed the next Lasith Malinga, but the youngster has the heart and the ability to become a star.
Bowling in the back-end of the innings, he landed those yorkers which made it impossible for the SRH lower middle-order to accelerate against him. Pathirana showed that he is not a one-trick pony, mixing the length up, bowling the occasional slower ball, and the SRH batters simply didn’t know how to deal with him.

CSK openers Conway and Ruturaj Gaikwad then made light work of the visitors’ below-par score by amassing 60 runs in the powerplay, with Conway plundering 22 runs off a Marco Jansen over that left the imposing South African pacer at his wits’ end.
The opening duo put together 87 runs in 11 overs, which effectively snuffed out any hopes of an SRH fightback. Ruturaj departed in an unfortunate manner as Umran Malik deflected Conway’s drive onto the stumps in his follow-through, but the Kiwi continued to score runs at will.
He cut, drove, pulled and scooped with alacrity to guide the hosts home with 8 balls to spare.

Earlier, expecting dew in the second half, MS Dhoni opted to bowl first on a pitch where the ball was not coming on to the bat. In an unexpected move, 22-year-old southpaw Abhishek Sharma strode out to open the batting with Harry Brook and Agarwal was demoted to No. 6.
The CSK new-ball bowlers kept a tight leash on the openers as the slow nature of the wicket came to the fore straight away, with a number of full-blooded drives finding the inside half of the bat.

(AI image)