IPL 2020: Chennai Super Kings defeat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 20 runs

Chennai Super Kings returned to winning ways on Tuesday after beating Sunrisers Hyderabad by 20 runs in Dubai to stay afloat in the race to qualify for the playoffs, also registering their first success this season while defending a total.

Chasing 168 for victory, CSK restricted SRH to 147 for 8 in 20 overs thanks to some superb bowling from Dwayne Bravo, Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja, Karn Sharma and the likes. SRH had won the first encounter between these two sides 11 days ago but couldn't repeat the same result on the return fixture.

CSK, in desperate need of reviving their IPL 2020 campaign, now have 6 points from 8 matches and need to win all their remaining games to ensure that they make it to the knockouts.

Kane Williamson played a lone hand for the Sunrisers and tried his best to get them over the line but they kept losing wickets at regular intervals which led to their downfall in the run chase.

SRH had their hopes pinned on the New Zealand captain but even his 57 off 39 balls couldn't take them over the line on a slow wicket at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

Bravo and Karn bagged 2 wickets each while



Curran, Jadeja, and Shardul Thakur chipped in 1 scalp each for CSK as they finally pulled up their socks and got their act together after suffering 2 back-to-back losses before this game.

Earlier, MS Dhoni won the toss and decided to change their strategy by opting to bat first even though the two wins they had up until this match had come while chasing.

But the batsmen repaid Dhoni's faith by posting a challenging 167 for 6 in 20 overs.

CSK didn't get off to a good start, losing the in-form Faf du Plessis in the 3rd over but Sam Curran, Shane Watson and Ambati Rayudu ensured a good recovery before middle-order cameos from MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja gave them the final push they needed to reach a par score.

Watson and Rayudu were part of a 81-run partnership which laid a solid foundation for them. Watson top-scored with 42, Rayudu made 41 while Curran smashed 31 before Dhoni and Jadeja's quickfire 21 and 25 not out helped them near the 170-run mark.

Sandeep Sharma, Khaleed Ahmed and T Natarajan capped off a good performance with the ball for SRH with 2 wickets each but it was their batsmen who couldn't live up to expectations.