Chennai Super Kings bounced back from recent losses with a convincing 78-run victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad in Match 46 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. Captain Ruturaj Gaikwad was the one leading the charge with a sublime 98, just short of a consecutive IPL century, while Daryl Mitchell contributed a vital 52 to propel CSK to a commanding 212/3 in their allotted 20 overs.
The innings of Gaikwad was characterized by calculated aggression, hitting 10 fours and three sixes at a blistering strike rate of 181.48. With Gaikwad, Mitchell—who scored his maiden IPL fifty—played well together, scoring a valuable 107-run stand. Shivam Dube was part of the late surge, scoring an unbeaten 39 off just 20 balls, which helped CSK surpass the 200-run mark for the second successive match.
For the defending champions, the start was a struggle from an experienced CSK bowling. Tushar Deshpande led the attack with the ball, picking up four wickets at the cost of 27 runs, three in the power play itself. Matheesha Pathirana and Mustafizur Rahman gave valuable support by picking up two wickets each. Ravindra Jadeja and Shardul Thakur picked up a wicket each.
For SRH, the chase never got off the blocks, and the wickets fell at the rate of one per over. Early blows from Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma did not help their cause, as Deshpande had cut off their innings. CSK's bowlers continued to bowl with great enthusiasm, and SRH scored just three boundaries in the middle overs.
Moeen Ali held on to a sharp catch at extra cover from Jaydev Unadat's bowling to end the match, and CSK emerged as clear winners after deserving their victory after a two-game losing streak. The win ended CSK's two-game losing streak, while also being their 50th IPL win at Chepauk, which pushed them up into third place on the points table.
