Left Arm Around

Abishek Sharma plundered 37 before Aiden Markram struck a composed fifty to lead Sunrisers Hyderabad to an important six-wicket victory over Chennai Super Kings at the MA Chidabaram Stadium.

Sharma’s blistering knock of 37 from only 12 deliveries featured 3 fours and 4 sixes, including a remarkable 26 runs off impact player Mukesh Choudhary in the second over.

The 23-year-old was removed by Deepak Chahar soon after, but much of the damage was already done as SRH made great use of the powerplay overs.

He currently sits fifth on the leading run-scorers of this year’s IPL with 161 runs from four innings at a strike-rate of 217.56.

Englishman Moeen Ali collected impressive figures of 2-23 on his return to CSK colours, dismissing Markram and Shahbaz Ahmed, however Markram’s classy first half-century of the season ensured the visitors reached their target of 166 with 11 balls to spare.

Travis Head also pitched in with an important 31 as he and Markram forged a 60-run partnership for the second wicket.

He was, however, crucially dropped on nought by Moeen Ali at first slip.

The ‘Men in Yellow’ threatened to post a score in excess of 180 after being asked to bat first, but a disciplined SRH bowling display limited the total at the back end of the innings.

Shivam Dube top-scored with 45 from 24 balls before Pat Cummins had him caught by Bhuvneshwar Kumar at point, the left-hander deceived by a slower delivery that slightly stuck in the surface.

Each of their batters got starts and reached double figures, yet the home side will regret an innings that saw no player pass fifty and failed to properly catch fire.

Cummins (1-29) and the experienced Jayden Unadkat (1-29) were particularly impressive to limit an explosive CSK middle order to just 38 off the final five overs.

Ravindra Jadeja and Daryl Mitchell were unable to hit boundaries with any regularity as the SRH bowlers used variations in pace to great effect.

Victory for SRH puts them in fifth position with four points from four fixtures, while CSK sit third on the same number of points.

Five-time champions CSK return to action against Kolkata Knight Riders at home on Monday.

SRH face Punjab Kings away in Mullanpur on Tuesday.