Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) registered another crucial win in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, as they defeated the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by 10 runs at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.
On Saturday, Ruturaj Gaikwad won the toss and invited the hosts to bat first. Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head slammed a 75-run stand inside the power play, and the bulk of the damage was done by the former.
Mukesh Choudhary bagged two wickets in two balls, dismissing Head and Ishan Kishan in the sixth over. However, Abhishek continued his rampage until he departed in the eighth over after scoring 59 off 22 balls.
Heinrich Klaasen took matters into his own hands, even as the young lower-middle order of SRH flattered to deceive. The wicketkeeper-batter anchored the innings but also didn’t let the scoring rate drop substantially. He eventually departed after scoring 59 off 39 balls.
Anshul Kamboj and Co. were brilliant in the death overs, giving away just 17 runs in the last three. CSK restricted SRH to a total below 200, 194/9 to be exact.
In reply, Sanju Samson was dismissed early but Ruturaj Gaikwad showed good intent during his 13-ball 19. However, Ayush Mhatre lit up the stadium with a flurry of boundaries, smashing 30 off 13 balls. After they were dismissed, the partnership between Sarfaraz Khan and Matthew Short batted with composure.
However, Eshan Malinga dismissed both of them in the 11th and 16th over, respectively. Dewald Brevis’ wicket was sandwiched in between them as the South African wonderkid was dismissed for a four-ball duck.
Shivam Dube got himself set at the crease, but Sakib Hussain dismissed him in the 17th over to give his side a massive breakthrough. In the end, Jamie Overton and Kamboj swung their bats around but it wasn’t enough to take their team home. Chennai finished on 184/8 in their 20 overs.
Talking Points
1. Ruturaj Gaikwad’s search for form continues
Ruturaj Gaikwad did hit three boundaries, but Malinga dismissed him in the sixth over. The CSK captain, when in form, seems to have a lot of time while playing his shots. However, on Saturday, he was rushed by Malinga’s short delivery angled at his body. Gaikwad gloved it on to wicketkeeper Salil Arora as his innings ended on 19 off 13 balls.
2. Eshan Malinga outshines Anshul Kamboj
Anshul Kamboj bowled brilliantly once again. It was surprising to see him not finishing his full quota of overs. In three overs, the right-arm seamer bagged three wickets and conceded just 22 runs. His yorkers from round the wicket to the right-handers were excellent. However, Malinga matched his performance if not bettering it in the second innings. The Sri Lankan seamer took three key wickets and went for only 29 runs, eventually winning the Player of the Match award.
3. Abhishek Sharma, Heinrich Klaasen’s world-class batting rattles CSK
Abhishek Sharma has blown hot and cold this season but his whirlwind half-century on Saturday was a treat to watch. He took the attack to the CSK bowlers and helped SRH get to a wonderful power play score, despite Travis Head struggling at the other end. On the other hand, Klaasen’s innings was equally important for the Orange Army. He held the innings together and helped his team move along to a good total. Had Klaasen got out earlier, Sunrisers would have fallen way short of the 194-run total they posted.
IPL 2026: SRH vs CSK Today’s Match Highlights
SRH vs CSK: Who Said What?
Ruturaj Gaikwad, CSK captain
“Looking at how their powerplay went, I was looking at 220-230. To pull it back by 30, I would have taken it any day under 200. It was just about 80 runs needed in 10 overs in the chase. From there it was just about building a couple of partnerships. We scored just four runs in the next two overs after the 10-over mark. Chasing 12-13 at the death is going to be difficult. It’s been three successive games that the bowling unit has been doing really well. Even the powerplay today I thought Abhishek played brilliantly. I think everyone did a good job with the ball. Anshul is working really on his bowling, especially the death bowling. Very rarely you get bowlers who have clarity and tell the captain that I know what to do, this is what I am going to do.”
Ishan Kishan, SRH captain
“Lovely when you have a bunch of young bowlers coming up with their plans. Looking at them [Praful, Sakib, Shivang], look at them getting better day by day at training, you have to trust them. I felt we were 30-40 short, need to be a lot better in our shot selection. Not looking at points table, need to keep our head down, we’ll take it one match at a time and see how it goes.”
Eshan Malinga, Player of the Match
Before the match we had a good plan and we know the Hyderabad wicket, after 10 overs it reverses. Actually Ishan was coming for me, he asking me – what kind of deliveries you are going to bowl. At the bowling crease, I decide what to bowl. The reverse is very important for me and the other bowlers. It’s a good wicket-taking delivery.
