02:21
Did Paul Reiffel change his mind after seeing Dhoni?
Chennai Super Kings 167 for 6 (Watson 42, Rayudu 41, Sandeep 2-19) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 147 for 8 (Williamson 57, Bravo 2-25, Karn 2-37) by 20 runs
Sam Curran‘s tone-setting 21-ball 31 at the top highlighted the Chennai Super Kings’ daring, new approach with the bat as they put up 167 for 6. After Curran completed the double duty – taking the prized scalp of David Warner in the powerplay – the Super Kings’ slower bowlers took over, smothering the Sunrisers Hyderabad in a passage of play that was straight out of Chepauk. Kane Williamson manipulated the field with a 36-ball half-century and Rashid Khan gave the Super Kings a late scare with 14 off eight balls, but Shardul Thakur and Dwayne Bravo defended 26 off the last two overs, sealing the Super Kings’ third victory in eight games.
The result left the Super Kings in a three-way tie in the bottom half of the IPL points table with the Sunrisers and the Rajasthan Royals.
With the Sunrisers requiring 46 off 18 balls, MS Dhoni turned to legspinner Karn Sharma over Thakur. After Williamson went four and out, Khan and Shahbaz Nadeem scrambled three boundaries in four balls in a 19-run over. Thakur was thrust into the hot seat for the penultimate over, and after Khan carved a double, Thakur speared an off-side yorker past the tramline. The next delivery was also a wide yorker and just as umpire Paul Reiffel was about to signal a wide, Dhoni protested. Reiffel ultimately deemed it a legal ball and at the end of a five-run over, Khan trod on his stumps and holed out off the same delivery. Bravo then closed out a 20-run win with his yorkers and slower dippers.
More to follow…
Deivarayan Muthu is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo