Harshal, Cummins capitalise on dry pitch to keep CSK down

An impressive CSK debut for Dewald Brevis, Ayush Mhatre's good start in his second game, were not enough to drag Chennai Super Kings out of the mire. Winning only their third toss of the year, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) capitalised on a dry pitch in their bid to beat CSK in Chennai for the first time and also get their own campaign back on track after just two wins in eight matches. CSK's 154 was their third-lowest total of the season.

Harshal Patel tested the middle of the pitch better than the others and ended up with analysis of 4-0-28-4. Pat Cummins got the wicket of the dangerous-looking Mhatre and topped it up with two boundaryless overs in the 16th and the 18th, ending up with figures of 4-0-21-2. Kamindu Mendis wowed people again with his ambidextrous bowling, taking Ravindra Jadeja's wicket and then removing Brevis with a sensational catch at long-off.

Mhatre got CSK off to one of their more enterprising starts despite a first-ball dismissal of Shaik Rasheed, but SRH were quick to start bowling into the pitch. Only Brevis rose above the conditions and the bowling, hitting four sixes in his 42 off 25. That included three sixes in Kamindu's third over after he had not been hit for any boundary in his first two.

Brevis was looking dangerous when he hit a slower bouncer over extra cover for six, but when he smashed a shot flat off a slot ball from Harshal, Kamindu dived to his left at long-off, got both his hands to the ball and caught it behind his body.

After Brevis' dismissal, the SRH bowlers turned the screw in with their tall bowlers banging the ball into the pitch. Jaydev Unadkat got Shivam Dube, and Harshal sent back MS Dhoni. Hooda added 17 for the last wicket with Khaleel Ahmed, but it wasn't quite the finishing kick they needed.