Abhishek scores 75, TN boys Natarajan, Washington shine with the ball to help SRH hand Super Kings 4th straight loss
This is the year of change in the IPL. Old order is giving way to the new and Chennai Super Kings - the champions of 'old-school' T20 - are bearing the brunt.
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The other day it was Ayush Badoni, then it was Vaibhav Arora, and on Saturday it was Sunrisers Hyderabad's Abhishek Sharma who handed CSK their fourth loss in a row - the first time since 2010.
Abhishek, a 21-year-old left-hander, played an innings of pure class on a pitch where shot-making wasn't easy as SRH ran away to an eight-wicket win with 16 balls to spare.
The back-of-the-length delivery on this DY Patil pitch was stopping just a bit and when CSK managed 154-7, one felt it would shape up into quite a game.
But Abhishek (75 off 50 balls) was mentored by the great Kane Williamson in the middle and the two put up 89 for the opening-wicket stand in 12.1 overs that all but took the game away from CSK. Abhishek, a fluent player, didn't take unnecessary risks in the powerplay and waited for the loose ball. The fact that CSK lack pace bowlers who can bowl a back of the length delivery effectively, made things a little easier.
Both Abhishek and Williamson ran well between the wickets, took the twos putting the ball into the deeper pockets of the field, and soon CSK were running out of answers. Even when Williamson was finally dismissed, Abhishek didn't seem to feel any pressure. Some of his back-foot punches were an absolute treat and the busy Rahul Tripathi (39 no off 15 balls) at the other end did just enough to make things even more comfortable.
1/8:Abhishek hits maiden fifty
<p>Indian batter Abhishek Sharma struck his maiden half-century in the Indian Premier League as Sunrisers Hyderabad on Saturday handed holders Chennai Super Kings their fourth straight loss this season. (BCCI/PTI Photo)</p>
2/8:Fine opening stand by SRH
<p>Chasing 155 for victory, Hyderabad depended on an opening stand of 89 between Abhishek (75) and skipper Kane Williamson (32) to achieve their target with 14 balls and eight wickets to spare in Mumbai. (BCCI/IPL Photo)</p>
3/8:Bravo gets rid of Abhishek
<p>Abhishek, a 21-year-old left-hand batter who plays for the northern state of Punjab in domestic cricket, hammered three sixes in his 50-ball knock before he fell to Dwayne Bravo. (BCCI/IPL Photo)</p>
4/8:Fiery knock by Tripathi
<p>Rahul Tripathi hit an unbeaten 15-ball 39 to drive 2016 winners Hyderabad to their first win in the third attempt of this edition's Twenty20 tournament. (BCCI/PTI Photo)</p>
5/8:Fourth consecutive loss for CSK
<p>But it is only the second time that four-time champions Chennai, led by new captain Ravindra Jadeja, have lost four consecutive matches in IPL the other instance came in 2010. (BCCI/IPL Photo)</p>
6/8:Moeen takes CSK to respectable total
<p>Chennai's England all-rounder Moeen Ali made 48 off 35 balls and guided Chennai to 154 for seven after being put into bat first. (BCCI/IPL Photo)</p>
7/8:Two wickets each for Sundar and Natarajan
<p>Spinner Washington Sundar and left-arm quick T Natarajan took two wickets each and checked the opposition scoring with their disciplined bowling. (BCCI/IPL Photo)</p>
8/8:Umran clocks fastest ball of the season
<p>Moeen, a left-hand batter, took on the Hyderabad bowlers including fast bowler Umran Malik who clocked the fastest ball of the season -- 153.1 kmph (95 mph) -- but gave away 29 runs off his three overs. (BCCI/IPL Photo)</p>While the lack of quality of the CSK attack was exposed as SRH galloped away to the target, there were two Tamil Nadu players in the first half who made a major impact for SRH. Left-arm pacer D Natarajan and offie Washington Sundar are both products of the Tamil Nadu Premier League, but CSK have shown a strange reluctance to pay the big bucks for home-grown talent.
Washington looked like a seasoned pro bowling in Powerplay and dismissing CSK opener Robin Uthappa. He bowled at the right pace, used his height to generate a bit of bounce and finished with figures of 2-22 which stifled the CSK batting.
Natarajan (2-30) was equally good with the ball, swinging in one that dismissed opener Ruturaj Gaikwad, who was trying to come back into form. He kept hitting a yorker length that made it difficult for the CSK middle-order to push on the accelerator at the backend of the innings. It was a boundary and a six in the last two balls of his spell that spoiled his figures just a bit, but by then the damage had already been done.
"We are getting outplayed in every department and not even putting up a fight. Everything has to improve if we have to have a chance," rued coach Stephen Fleming, who is trying to oversee an extremely difficult transition for CSK.
