Both the teams are looking for their first win of the season.
Both the teams are looking for their first win of the season.
Moeen Ali smashed 48 off 35 balls to guide Chennai Super Kings to 154 for seven after Sunrisers Hyderabad bowlers tried to use a difficult pitch in their IPL match in Navi Mumbai on Saturday.
Captain Ravindra Jadeja (23 off 15 balls) played a slight cameo in the end after CSK lost a few wickets in the pile.
Both teams entered the game to open their accounts in the 15th edition of the tournament.
In the first over, Bhuvneshwar Kumar got the edge off Robin Uthappa (15), who hit a boundary.
Uthappa’s unconcerned middle in the middle was ended by Washington Sundar (2/21) off the very first ball of the off-spinner when the batsman went for a slog-sweep.
After conceding 25 runs in the first three overs, SRH was back in the game and it got the better of them with T Natarajan (2/30) attacking as the left-arm pacer bowled Ruturaj Gaikwad (16).
Opening his spell, Natarajan went through the gap between Gaikwad’s bat and pad to work on the leg side. Gaikwad had a good start, bringing a boundary each through cover and point-third man area.
With 36 for two in 5.1 overs, CSK were in trouble and needed a partnership, and the pair of Moeen Ali (48) and Ambati Rayudu (27) answered the call with a 62-run third wicket stand.
While Rayudu found the fence four times during his run-a-ball innings, Moeen hit two sixes and three fours, before being dismissed by part-timer Aiden Markram.
Close to 100 and with some more batting to come to the pitch where the ball seemed to be stalling, CSK were well established when Rayudu departed after playing a part in rebuilding the innings.
However, Williamson’s gamble to bring in Markram worked as CSK lost their fourth wicket at 108 in the 15th over.
In a soft dismissal, Natarajan held Shivam Dubey responsible as the defending champions lost three wickets in quick succession.
Two overs later, with even the great Mahendra Singh Dhoni (3) going back into the dugout, CSK struggled to 122 for six, with 15 balls to spare.