Harshal Patel masterfully exploited a sluggish Chepauk pitch to claim four wickets, guiding Sunrisers Hyderabad to a five-wicket victory over Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League on Friday — a result that has all but shut the door on CSK's play-off hopes.
The encounter, billed as a bottom-of-the-table clash, saw CSK fold for 154 in 19.5 overs after being put in to bat. Harshal returned figures of 4 for 28, using a clever mix of slower deliveries and knuckle balls to keep the batters in check.
Despite the dew aiding stroke-making in the second innings, Sunrisers Hyderabad struggled to chase down the modest target, eventually crossing the line in 18.4 overs.
Ishan Kishan, making amends for a previous lapse against Mumbai Indians, scored a steady 44 off 34 balls. Kamindu Mendis (32 not out off 22) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (19 not out off 13) saw SRH home with an unbeaten 49-run stand — sealing the team’s first victory at this venue.
SRH now have six points from nine matches and climbed to eighth in the ten-team table. Though their chances of reaching the play-offs remain slim, mathematically they can still qualify if they win their remaining five matches with strong margins.
For CSK, the seventh defeat in nine outings spells near-certain elimination. They must win all their remaining matches and pray for a low cut-off of 14 points for the fourth spot.
The CSK batting line-up, plagued by a loss of confidence, faltered again. Their bowlers too lacked cohesion, adding to their woes.
Harshal’s fine effort was well supported by skipper Pat Cummins (2/21), Kamindu Mendis (1/26), and veterans Mohammed Shami (1/28) and Jaydev Unadkat (2/21).
Dewald Brevis (42 off 25 balls) top-scored for CSK, with Deepak Hooda (22 off 21) providing a late flourish to lift the total past the 150-run mark.
Earlier, CSK suffered a nightmare start when Shaik Rasheed was dismissed off the first delivery of the innings by Mohammed Shami — a classic delivery on a good length that shaped away just enough.
Young Ayush Mhatre (30 off 19) launched a counterattack, finding boundaries against Shami, Cummins and Unadkat. However, he fell to Cummins after setting himself up, with CSK reeling at 50 for 3 at the end of the powerplay.
Sam Curran’s dismissal — top-edging a Harshal slower one — further dented CSK's hopes.
Ravindra Jadeja (21) was given a reprieve when Harshal dropped him, but his innings was cut short when Kamindu Mendis breached his defence.
CSK were 76 for 4 at the halfway stage, but Shivam Dube (12 off 9) and Brevis brought some momentum back with quick runs. Brevis smashed three sixes off Mendis and another off Harshal before falling to a brilliant diving catch by Kamindu.
Dube’s exit in the next over, caught by Abhishek Sharma at long-on off Unadkat, signalled the beginning of another collapse.
MS Dhoni, playing his 400th T20 match, was dismissed for a single, cutting Harshal straight to point.
Hooda tried to salvage the innings towards the end, but his effort only took CSK marginally beyond the 150-run mark — a total that proved insufficient despite SRH’s stutters in the chase..
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