SRH vs CSK Highlights, IPL 2024: Hyderabad floor Chennai by six wickets as Markram, Abhishek shine in chase

Abhishek: In the bowling we felt it's a bit slow wicket. We knew if we take the powerplay on, we can go with the flow after that. We had a chance to prepare well before this IPL. Big scores do matter (individual scores), but I went with the flow today. Special thanks to Yuvi paaji, Brian Lara and my dad for this.

Pat Cummins: Different soil. Slowed up a little bit as the game went on. Shivam was hitting it well against the spin. Thought we'll take chance with off-cutters. First thing is always to get the points. Wouldn't want to be bowling to him (Abhishek) and Trav Head at the top. Crowd was crazy tonight. When MS walked out, it was as loud as I've ever heard.

Aiden Markram: (The pitch) Not too bad, but not like it was against Mumbai. When we bowled, the first ten overs or so, it was coming on alright but got tougher. So we took on in the first ten and were in a good position later. I don't want to think too much, probably see-ball, hit-ball. That is encouraged by the team management and Patty. When you get in, the batter that is in needs to value the position. The Impact Player has freed batters.

Ruturaj: It was a slow pitch. At the back end they bowled well. We couldn't capitalise in the last five overs. We were in a good situation halfway but they bowled well at the back. It was a black soil pitch, so we expected the slowness. As the ball got older, it got slower. They used the conditions well, big boundary at one end. We did not bowl well in the PowerPlay but did well to drag the game. 170-175 was par. If we would have had a good PowerPlay with the ball, we could have had the game. There was slight dew at the later stage. Moeen was spinning the ball in the 15th-16th over, so not much of a difference.

Abhishek Sharma in top 5 in Orange Cap race: READ MORE

Points Table updated after SRH vs CSK: READ HERE

Aiden Markram stood gazing at the replay, shaking his head and dragging himself to the dug-out, watching his horrendous mode of dismissal. He was batting stressless, the required run rate was under check, he was hoarding singles and twos, Sunrisers cruised. Just then his judgment snapped. He unfolded a reverse sweep, off Moeen Ali who was gripping the ball off the surface and producing some turn. He swished thin air, his balance utterly off-kilter. The umpire sent him the summons to the dressing room. The review was a mere formality. At the other end, Shahbaz Ahmed was watching all these. But he didn’t learn. A few overs later, against the same bowler, he attempted a reverse sweep. He failed to connect. He didn’t learn again. Two balls later, one of which he clouted for a six, he winked in the sweep again, Ali operating from around the wicket. He missed it again, but the angle was too tight for the umpire to give it out But upon review, he overturned the decision. Needless to say, those two ill-fated reverse sweeps gave CSK a whiff of hope. The ghosts of Mike Gatting seemed to lurk around them. - Sandip G

Chahar into the attack. Length ball and Nitish seals the game with a superb SIX down the ground! SRH beat CSK by six wickets!

Tushar Deshpande into the attack

Sharp delivery onto the stumps and Nitish blocks it out, back to the bowler. Short from Deshpande and Nitish swats it to the deep for a single. An off-cutterr from Deshpande beats Klaasen and even Dhoni for a couple of byes. Fuller ball outside off and Klaasen lifts the ball over extra cover for FOUR. Nine from the over.

Jadeja bowls a dot. He tosses one up and Nitish unfurls the reverse-sweep for FOUR BEpast first-slip. A single to follow. Short from Jadeja and Klaasen drives through cover for one run. Nitish steers the ball to long off for another run. 

Shahbaz makes room to swing big but misses Moeen's length ball that turns away. In the slot and Shahbaz makes room and connects this time. The ball flies over long-on for SIX! Loud shout again as Moeen hits the pads as Shahbaz attempts a reverse sweep, CSK review. A crackerjack review from CSK as the replays suggest three reds! Another reverse-sweep casts an SRH batter's downfall. Nitish Kumar comes in at 6. He's off the blocks with a single. Klaasen keeps strike with a single.

Shahbaz Ahmed lbw b Ali 18 (19b 1x6) 

Rachin Ravindra is into the attack

Shahbaz gets a single first up. Rachin hits length and Klaasen taps it back to the bowler.  A single to follow. Rachin wafts one in and it zips past Klaasen's wild swing. Just three from the over as Klaasen is caught in the crease while defending.

Moeen starts with a wide down leg. He goes short and Markram rocks back to clip the ball through mid-wicket for two runs. Fifty off 35 balls for Markram as he anchors the chase following a brilliant PP start from the openers. A string of runs trickle in through Moeen's over. Moeen to Markram, OUT! A tame reverse-sweep attempt and Moeen rushes it onto the pads. The umpire raises his finger and Markram tepidly goes up for a review. Three reds and Markram perishes.

Aiden Markram lbw b Ali 50 (36b 4x4 1x6)

The boundaries have been kept away by the CSK bowlers but SRH are in no hurry. Markram nudges about the field for ones and twos, slowly closing in on his fifty.

Moeen Ali into the attack. Moeen tosses the balls on a sharp line as the batters tread on singles. Markram retains strike with a single. Seven from it.

A couple of singles to start the Jadeja over. Shahbaz gives a shuffle to Jadeja and attempts to clear the short mid-wicket but Ruturaj stands solid in line. Width from Jadeja and Shahbaz taps it through the off for one run. Five from the oever.

Theekshana wafts one in and Markram creams it through extra cover for FOUR. A single to follow. Theekshana to Head, OUT! Gone! Fuller delivery to be hit and Head slog-sweeps it straight to backward square leg. Shahbaz Ahmed is in at 4. He rushes one to the pads and has a loud appeal, turned down by the umpire. Dhoni and the bowler deliberate with Ruturaj and decide to take a review. The replays suggest Umpire's Call on Impact and Shahbaz survives.

Travis Head c Ravindra b Theekshana 31 (24b 3x4 1x6) 

Jadeja fires one in on length and Markram clobbers it down the ground for a huge SIX - 50-run partnership up between Markram and Head as SRH reach 100 within nine overs!

Theekshana returns. He maintains a stump-to-stump line. Head and Markram keep their guard down and rotate strike with ease. A couple of quiet overs.

Jadeja into the attack. He maintains a fine line of attack. Head and Markram tread on singles. Six from the over.

Deshpande replaces Theekshana

A hint of room and Head smashes the ball down the ground for FOUR. Deshpande aims to line the ball in and yet Head makes room to lob the ball over mid-off for FOUR. A leg-bye to follow. Deshpande tails the ball in and Markam flicks it through mid-wicket for FOUR.

Chahar stops in his stride while running in to have a look at Markram at the non-striker's who has not left his crease. Length outside off and Head slaps it through cover for FOUR. Chahar constricts Head in a brief passage here, three dots. He attempts to make room to cut but Chahar follows him for an inside-edge for a single

Maheesh Theekshana into the attack. Markram shimmies down and bisects the off-side with a sumptious drive for FOUR. He gets a top-edge but manages to reel in two runs. Full toss from Theekshana and Markram belts it for another FOUR.

SIX again! Chahar attempts to toss in the bouncer but Abhishek gets on top of it and wallops it to the stands for a maximum. Another slower-ball on length and Abhishek makes room to flay the ball through point for FOUR. Chahar to Abhishek, OUT! He holes out this time. The high-octane knock comes to an end as Abhishek scythes Chahar straight to the deep third fielder. Aiden Markram is in at 3.

Abhishek Sharma c Jadeja b Chahar 37 (12b 3x4 4x6)

Mukesh Choudhary from the opposite end

A hint of swing for Mukesh as he overpitches the ball and Abhishek drills it down the ground for FOUR. Short ball and Abhishek swivels to deposit in the stands behind fine leg for SIX! Mukesh tails it in and Abhshek nonchalantly flicks it over mid-wicket for another SIX and it's a no-ball! Slower ball in the slot and Abhishek clobbers it over long-off for another SIX! Flatter ball outside off and Abhishek slaps it through cover for FOUR - 27 off the over!

Deepak Chahar opens the attack.

Dropped second ball! Chahar extracts the outside edge off the second ball and Moeen Ali drops a sharp chance at first slip. A huge chance gone down there and Chahar cannot believe it. A single to follow and Chahar greets Abhishek with a short ball. A fairly straight delivery and Abhishek taps it to cover for a single. Short ball outside off and Head scythes it over deep third for SIX!

Travis Head walks in as IP with Abhishek Sharma. Shivam Dube is replaced by Mukesh Choudhary as IP.

On a slow, at times turgid surface, Sunrisers Hyderabad seamers produced a festival of slower balls. There were all sorts, the bouncer, the off-cutter, the back-of-the-hand variation, and the leg-cutter, mostly back-of-length. It began with a deceptively disguised slower-ball bouncer to nail Shivam Dube. In the next over, a slow off-cutter from Jaydev Unadkat foxed Ajinkya Rahane, who abhors slow wickets and slower balls. Unadkat really relished the pitch. Five of his six balls in the next over were slower balls—two off-cutters and three bouncers. Those five yielded only three runs. One of them almost landed on his half of the pitch and reached Ravindra Jadeja in the time the latter would have rifled through an over. So effective that you wondered whether SRH were late in launching their slower-ball barrage. And now CSK would miss the slower-ball ustaad Mustafizur Rahman, who has flown back to Dhaka to sort out his US visa for the T20 World Cup. - Sandip G

Natarajan starts the over with two yorker-length deliveries, only conceding singles. Natarajan to Mitchell, OUT! Fuller delivery and Mitchell pumps it straight to the long-on fielder. Huge roars from the crowd as Dhoni walks in. He gets a slower bouncer first-up and Dhoni fails to put bat on ball. Short ball and Dhoni hooks it to the deep for only a single. Low full toss and Jadeja clips it to Unadkat at deep square-leg and a misfield hands CSK FOUR runs!

Daryl Mitchell c Abdul Samad b Natarajan 13 (11b 1x4)

Bhuvneshwar returns. He starts with a wide delivery outside-off and Jadeja steers it to deep point for a single. In the blockhole this time and Mitchell digs it out through mid-wicket for two runs. Mitchell finds a single. Jadeja digs it out another yorker as he steps out of the crease and Bhuvneshwar has a shy at the stumps for a runout but Jadeja gets in the way and the umpires send it upstairs for obstruction but is turned down by Cummins! Top over from Bhuvi, just the six from it.

Slower bouncer outside off and Jadeja springs up to parry the ball behind square for FOUR. A string of ones and twos to follow. Short ball angling in and Mitchell thwacks it through square-leg for FOUR this time.

Low full toss from Unadkat and Jadeja glides it fine down leg for FOUR. A single to follow. Another slower-ball on length and Mitchell miscues the shot completely towards the bowler. A slap to deep cover gets him a single. Jadeja cannot steer the slower bumper from his Saurashtra teammate this time as he nearly loses balances while attempting to hook the ball. Seven from the over.

Natarajan drops the ball short and Jadeja steers it behind square for a single. Mitchell's off the mark with a single. In the blockhole and Jadeja digs it out to mid-off for one run. The big hits have waned and Natarajan is hitting the yorker length with precision. Five from the over.

Unadkat continues to squeeze the batters with the slower deliveries. Jadeja taps one to mid-off and jets off for a single.Slower ball on length and Jadeja slaps it through mid-off for FOUR. Unadkat to Rahane, OUT! A superb slower-ball outside the off-stump and Rahane lobs it to the backward point fielder.

Ajinkya Rahane c Markande b Unadkat 35 (30b 2x4 1x6) 

Cummins is back. The slower deliveries continue to dictate as Rahane and Dube exchange strike with ones and twos. Cummins to Dube, OUT! Gone. The slower-bouncer from Cummins outside off and Dub parries it straight to the backward point fielder. Huge wicket for SRH and it's the skipper in action. Jadeja is in at 5. He's off the blocks with a single.

Shivam Dube c Kumar b Cummins 45 (24b 2x4 4x6)

Yuvraj Singh lite package, it’s how Ravichandran Ashwin described the batting style of Shivam Dube. “I’m not asserting he’s identical to Yuvraj Singh, but he strongly reminds me of him,” he had said. Kevin Pietersen too could find similar notes: “There’s a lot of Yuvraj Singh about CSK’s Shivam Dube.” There are clear similarities—the height, reach, bat-swing especially the down-swing, and the aggressive disposition. Yuvraj, though, had more strokes, panache, and an exceptional range of strokes both sides off the wicket. Dube is not as gifted but is as proficient a destroyer of spin bowling you could come across. Ashwin calls him a spin-hitting monster. He displayed that against SRH spinner Mayank Markande, who was slugged on one knee. It’s a staple of most batsmen from the subcontinent, but he makes it look ridiculously simple. He then whipped up some serious Yuvraj-nostalgia with a leg-side destruction of T Natarajan. He smeared him for two successive sixes, the first a swivel pull instilled with Yuvraj-like flair, and then a thump clearing the front-leg with a flourish made in cricketing heaven. Not a Yuvraj clone, but Yuvraj lite definitely. - Sandip G

Tanishq from Hyderabad: Ajinkya Rahane who looked in sublime touch in the Powerplay slowed down significantly as the spinners have come on. He is unable to generate the same power as Dube from the other end against cutters bowled by SRH medium pacers.

Unadkat forces length and Rahane mistimes the ball towards the wide long-on fielder for a run. Slower-ball on length and Rahane chips it just past mid-off for FOUR. A string of ones and twos to follow.

Natarajan returns with a bumper and Rahane miscues the hook but the ball falls in no man's land. Short but not short enough and Dube deposits the ball over the mid-wicket fence for SIX! Fuller this time and Dube clears his front leg for another massive SIX! Natarajan lands a yorker and Dube digs it out for two runs. Fifty-run partnership is up with Rahane only contributing six to that!

Jaydev Unadkat into the attack

Unadkat lands on length and Rahane gets a leading edge that parries just over point for two runs. Unadkat follows up with an excellent slower-bouncer but the umpire signals a wide. Excellent changes in pace from the left-armer, giving no pace for the batters to hit through the line. Dube drills the ball to long on for a single.

lower-bouncer but the umpire signals a wide.

Cummins returns after the break.

He starts with a pace-off delivery to Dube who taps it back to the bowler. Fuller ball angling in and Dube works it to the short mid-wicket fielder. Dube makes room to slash the ball behind point for two runs. He follows up with a single as Cummins rolls in a slower-bouncer. Excellent over, just four from it. 

Chennai Super Kings’ batting ethos largely focus on taking the game forward, where strike-rate takes precedence over others. Despite the batting order being given the freedom to go out on the attack, one of the stand-out features of their approach is how they don’t blindly slog. Instead of going for the conventional horizontal bat shots, Chennai’s batting line-up has preferred to mostly hit on the V unless the length forces them to. It means there is less risk element and there is more value for it, especially on flat decks. This was once again to the forefront in Chennai’s innings in the powerplay, where Ajinkya Rahane and Ruturaj Gaikwad preferred scoring in the V. The eye-catching shots were the ones played by Rahane off Pat Cummins and Gaikwad off Bhuvneshwar Kumar – both just an extension of their hands, which resulted in the ball soaring over the boundary ropes. - Venkata Krishna B

Width from Markande and Dube crouches to cut the ball through point for FOUR. Short on the pads this time and Dube clips it through square for two runs. A single to follow. Rahane briskly taps the ball to put Dube back on strike. Mayank loops one in towards the feet and Dube brings out the big swing through square-leg for SIX!

Shahbaz Ahmed into the attack.

Shahbaz to Ruturaj, OUT! Straight to long on! Ruturaj hops down for the big slog but mistimes it to the fielder in the deep. He is livid with himself as he trudges back. Shivam Dube is in at 4. Two dots and he is away with a maximum. In the slot this time and Dube thumps it over long-on for SIX. Flatter from Shahbaz and Dube slaps it through extra cover for FOUR.

Ruturaj Gaikwad c Abdul Samad b Shahbaz Ahmed 26 (21b 3x4 1x6)

Mayank Markande replaces Cummins. A string of singles as Mayank maintains a tight line with his loopy deliveries. Six singles from the over.

The flair from Rahane! Bhuvneshwar moves in from length and Rahane pumps it over mid-on for FOUR.  A single to follow. IN THE AIR and FOUR. Bhuvneshwar finds a thick outside-edge from Ruturaj with the knuckle ball and the ball lobs up streakily past short third to the boundary. In the slot again and Ruturaj lofts it magestically down the ground for another SIX. Big over to end the PP!

Pat Cummins into the attack.

SHOT! Length ball rushing upwards and Rahane smokes it off the middle of his blade over long-on for SIX! Cummins pushes it further up and Rahane taps it towards the point fielder. Short ball from Cummins and Rahane pulls it behind square for a single. Seven from the over.

Bhuvneshwar to Rachin, OUT! Straight up and Ravindra holes out to mid-on. First wicket of the season in four games for Bhuvneshwar as Markram holds on to the catch. Ajinkya Rahane is in at 3. He chips the first ball just over the bowler. Massive repreive first up there for Rahane. Beaten. A touch of extra pace as Bhuvneshwar straightens a ball from length past Ruturaj's blade.

Rachin Ravindra c Markram b Kumar 12 (9b 2x4)

Natarajan replaces Abhishek.

He shapes one in and Ruturaj clips it to deep square-leg for two runs. A single follows as the batters struggle to find the boundary. Natarajan angles it in and Rachin smites it through mid-wicket for FOUR. Rachin works one to mid-on and sets off on a quick single. He gives up midway as Cummins gets hands on the ball swiftly. Close! A touch of room and Ruturaj dabs the ball through backward point for FOUR.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar from the opposite end. Full delivery outside off, Rachin taps it towards mid-off and reels in a single. Length tailing in towards the off-stump and Ruturaj steers it efficiently past point for FOUR. Bhuvneshwar slides it in and Ruturaj works it towards the mid-wicket fielder. Beaten! A fine delivery in the channel, moving in and the ball whizzes past Ruturaj's outside-edge. A single down to third to end the over.

Interesting to see Abhishek Sharma open the attack. Rachin on strike, with a slip in place. Long on and deep mid-wicket out.

Short ball angling in and Rachin taps it to deep mid-wicket for a single. Ruturaj responds with a single to long on. Fuller delivery angling in and Rachin sweeps the ball behind square for FOUR. A single down to long-on to follow. Ruturaj makes room to attack through off but Abhishek darts one in towards the pads, dot.

Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rachin Ravindra walk out to the middle for CSK as Pat Cummins' men take the field. 

Tanishq from Hyderabad: Ahead of the game Jaydev Unadkat has been seen practising the wide outside the off-stump delivery into the surface intensely which might give an indication that it might be another surface which will get progressively slower as the game goes on.

Sunrisers Hyderabad XI: Abhishek Sharma, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen(w), Abdul Samad, Nitish Reddy, Shahbaz Ahmed, Pat Cummins(c), Jaydev Unadkat, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mayank Markande, T Natarajan

Chennai Super Kings XI: Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Rachin Ravindra, Ajinkya Rahane, Moeen Ali, Daryl Mitchell, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni(w), Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Maheesh Theekshana

TOSS: Sunrisers Hyderabad win toss, opt to bowl

Ruturaj Gaikwad: It's going pretty well, the group is responding well. Nothing much changes for me, obviously this is a new challenge, but I'm feeling good. Pathirana is slightly ill - three changes for us. Theekshana comes in. The bowlers are ready to go and so are the youngsters.

Pat Cummins: We'll bowl first. Looks like a good wicket and should stay the same for the whole match. We've got a great squad. Mayank Agarwal is unwell, he's replaced by Nitish Reddy. Nattu is back as well. Last time, there were 500 runs scored, this looks like a good wicket as well.
Ruturaj Gaikwad and Pat Cummins out in the middle.

Brian Lara and Samuel Badree analyse the pitch: One side is slightly bigger then the other. Both square boundaries are sub-70-m, the straight boundary is slightly bigger. It's a different surface tonight, but there are a lot of runs. Some visible cracks, but it's not going to affect the game. The captain winning the toss would like to bat first. Even 200 on this pitch isn't a safe score and the batting team will be disappointed at their effort.

MS Dhoni is strolling out to the field for his customary warm-ups. Can he play a bigger role with the bat here tonight?

Most sixes in IPL since 2023 against spin: Heinrich Klaasen - 28 sixes, 200 strike rate; Shivam Dube - 25 sixes, 177 strike rate.

CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad is shadow-batting at the strip with Abhishek Sharma and Heinrich Klaasen standing beside him.