Pune (Maharashtra) [India], May 1 (ANI): Top knocks by Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway propelled Chennai Super Kings to 202/3 in the first innings against Sunrisers Hyderabad, here at MCA Stadium, on Sunday.
Gaikwad’s knock of 99 runs while Conway’s unbeaten 85 gave CSK a strong hand in the first innings. For SRH, T Natarajan was the only bowler who registered two wickets to his name.
Put to bat first, CSK started off on a good note as the openers Gaikwad and Conway scored 40 runs in the powerplay. The momentum of the game completely changed by the end of the 8th over as the duo took the score to 60 runs.
Gaikwad was in a lethal form as he scored his half-century in just 33 balls and kept CSK in a dominating position. Conway on the other end anchored the innings and gave a strong stand to Gaikwad.
The duo then took CSK across the 100-run mark in just 11 overs after scoring 15 runs off Aiden Markram’s over. Conway then brought up his maiden IPL half-century off just 39 balls, after smashing 20 runs in the 15th over.
SRH finally took a sigh of relief when T Natarajan dismissed Gaikwad, after scoring 99 runs, leaving CSK’s total at 182/1 in 18 overs. His dismissal brought Dhoni to the crease and he along with Conway continued the carnage.
Dhoni departed after scoring 8 runs as he also fell prey to Natarajan’s spell. But that did not affect CSK’s batting as Conway was still standing there and was joined by Ravindra Jadeja.
The duo then scored 11 runs off the last over and brought CSK to a total of 202/3 at the end of the first innings.
SRH now need a total of 203 runs off 120 balls to register their sixth win of the tournament.
Brief Scores: Chennai Super Kings 202/3 (Ruturaj Gaikwad 99, Devon Conway 85*; T Natarajan 2/42) vs Sunrisers Hyderabad. (ANI)