Images from Friday's Indian Premier League match between SunRisers Hyderabad and Chennai Super Kings, in Dubai.
Young Priyan Garg and Abhishek Sharma's big-hitting was the difference as SunRisers Hyderabad beat Chennai Super Kings by seven runs in the Indian Premier League match, in Dubai, on Friday.
The two youngsters rallied the Sunrisers from a precarious position to a competitive 164 for five after their main batsmen failed against some tight bowing and fielding by Chennai Super Kings.
In reply, Chennai Super Kings, despite a brisk 47 off 36 balls by captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who became the IPL's most-capped player with 194 games going into the match, and a 35-ball 50 by Ravindra Jadeja, fell just short of the target, the ask of 28 runs off final over proving too much.
It was the third straight defeat for Chennai in four matches, one of the worst starts for the three-time champions. SunRisers registered their second victory four matches.
Earlier, Garg (51 not out) and Abhishek (31) raised a 77-run stand for the fifth wicket as the SunRisers plundered 53 runs in the last four overs to finish with a fighting total.
They were helped by some poor fielding in the final overs, as Abhishek was dropped twice.
After struggling in their initial matches, Chennai Super Kings included Ambati Rayudu, Dwayne Bravo and Shardul Tahakur for Friday's game.
Rejuvenated following a week’s break they struck early after Deepak Chahar (2/31) troubled the SunRisers batsmen with his swinging deliveries. He got Chennai off to a rousing start with the wicket of Jonny Bairstow.
He bowled a perfect length fourth delivery and Bairstow, who initially found the ball angling away from him, was outfoxed by the in-swinger and castled. It was the seamer’s 99th wicket in T20.
Manish Pandey (29) displayed in good touch as he timed the ball nicely when pitched up and did not hesitate to play lofted shots while Warner worked the ball around. They scored 42 runs off the Powerplay overs.
However, Shardul Thakur struck in his second over. Pandey mistimed his shot and played it straight into the hands of Sam Curran at mid-off. The Super Kings were 52-2 after eight overs.
With the overs ticking away, Warner looked for big shots but fell when Faf Du Plessis, timed his leap perfectly to catch him near the boundary ropes.
He hit Piyush Chawla to long-on, where Faf du Plessis pulled off a stunning catch, making sure to throw the ball in the air before stepping the boundary rope and stepping back to complete it.
It only got worse for the SunRisers when Kane Williamson (9) was run-out next ball in a mix up with Garg. Williamson's drive to short mid-wicket was fielded by Ambati Rayudu, who returned to ball to Mahendra Singh Dhoni to dislodge the bails. At the end of 11 overs SRH were 69 for 4.
The responsibility to carry the team forward fell on the young shoulders of Garg and Abhishek, and they did not disappoint.
That Abhishek is talented is already known and the southpaw further enhanced his reputation with some confident and cracking shots.
Garg too found his touch as he spent time at the crease, finishing with 6 four and a six.
Coming in to bat at number five, Dhoni had enough balls at his disposal, a manageable target and trusted aide in Ravindra Jadeja (50) for company but again his attack came too late.
It was Jadeja who took the Super Kings closer to the target before getting out while Dhoni struggled in their 72-run stand for the fifth wicket.
Except for a few hits, he struggled to time the ball. He also lost steam towards the end, having batted in hot conditions for over an hour. He hit Khaleel Ahmed for a massive six in the 19th over, which had to be completed by him because Bhuvneshwar Kumar hurt his leg after bowling just one ball.
Chennai needed 28 runs from the final over and skipper Warner handed the ball to 18-year-old Jammu and Kashmir spinner Abdul Samad. The gamble paid off. Samad started with a wide that yielded CSK a boundary but held his nerve to see his side through.
The SunRisers spinners, specially Rashid Khan deserve credit for the victory. The Afghan was, as usual, exceptional; he choked the Super Kings with his well-measured deliveries. He did not get a wicket but conceded only 12 runs his four overs.
Not only did a quick start elude CSK, but they lost three quick wickets -- Faf Du Plessis (22), Shane Watson (1) and Amabati Rayudu (8). The Indian pace trio of SRH -- Bhuvneshwar, T Natarajan and Khaleel -- kept them under pressure.
Bhuvneshwar sent back Watson (1) while Natarajan spoilt the comeback of Rayudu (8). Garg, after a splendid knock, effected Du Plessis’s run out.
Rashid choked the runs with ever-reliable leg-spin while Jammu and Kashmir's Abdul Samad got rid of Kedar Jadhav (3).
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