Billed as one of the weakest attacks in the Indian Premier League this season, the SunRisers Hyderabad bowlers came together and fought hard to seal a superb victory at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Saturday, April 18.
Nitish Reddy-led SRH hit the Chennai Super Kings batting hard to restrict the visitors to 184/8 and defend 195 runs at home, in a game where almost 80 per cent of the crowd supported the away side. CSK supporters painted Uppal yellow and created a hostile atmosphere for the home side who were under pressure throughout the match with chants of “CSK, CSK” fading away.
Chasing 195, CSK started brightly and scored 76 runs in the first six overs, threatening to lose the game early. However, the visitors lost their breath after the over as the SRH bowlers put in a great collective performance, executing their plans to perfection against the likes of Matt Short, Dewald Brevis and Shivam Dube and steadily digging into the game.
Defending 18 runs from the last six balls, uncapped pacer Praful Hinge, who had already conceded 54 runs in his first three overs, almost lost his temper after playing a no-ball to the waist in the third delivery of the over. With the pressure mounting and the crowd roaring for CSK, Hinge held his nerve to deliver three superb deliveries to restrict the opposition to 184/8 at the end of the 20th over.
It is no understatement to say that CSK ran away with the game early on. Young Ayush Mhatre gave them a bright start, smashing 30 off just 13 balls and putting SRH on the back foot immediately. However, a hamstring injury in the fifth game halted his momentum and Mhatre ended up being dismissed on the very next ball.
Mhatra’s wicket in the fifth over, followed by skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad’s dismissal in the sixth, gave SRH the perfect opportunity to strike back and they hit back, choking the life out of CSK’s innings.
Nitish Reddy deserves immense credit here for playing his heart out against CSK. He went full and fast, mixing it up with the occasional sharp bouncer to make them bat awkwardly. Nitish’s intensity caught CSK off guard and the side ended up handing him the crucial wickets of Sanju Samson and Ayush Mhatre.
Once the floodgates opened, SRH brought in pacers Sakib Hussain and Ehsan Malinga to tighten the grip through the middle overs. The duo played hard and fast, consistently coming under the CSK batting line-up and making life difficult for the opposition. Once the ball started turning after the 15th over, it was almost impossible for the CSK batsmen to score as they were unable to deal with the lateral movement of the ball. Worse, they didn’t actually pick up the slower balls that were pitched, denying the batsmen any pace in the death overs.
Alongside the pacers came Shivang Kumar, the left-arm wrist spinner from Madhya Pradesh, also known as India’s Noor Ahmad. Shivang’s constant googlies that went away from the right-hander’s bat really hampered CSK’s scoring and forced them into errors.
Malinga finished with figures of 4-0-19-3, Sakib returned 4-0-32-1, while Shivang recorded figures of 3-0-18-1, including the crucial wicket of Dewald Brevis, who was dismissed for 0 off 4 balls.
CSK never recovered from that collapse and eventually stuttered to 184/8 in their 20 overs.
At this point, it probably needs to be re-emphasized that SRH were labeled as one of the thinnest bowling attacks at the start of the season. And they probably are. It just proved once again that even on a non-competitive deck, India’s uncapped bowlers are good enough to trouble world-class players if given a solid plan.
On Saturday, the plan was simple. Bowled with good zip and try to hit top off stump. Show good intentions. And when the time comes, execute your Yorkies. And that’s all it took to bring down CSK today. Credit must be given to the management of SRH – especially Varun Aaron, who was constantly in the ears of the bowlers and guided them from the touchline.
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Issued by:
Kingshuk Kusari
Published on:
18 Apr 2026 23:54 IST
