Following his side's six-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in their Indian Premier League (IPL), Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) all-rounder Abhishek Sharma thanked Indian legend Yuvraj Singh, West Indies great Brian Lara and his father for helping out in his game. Chennai Super Kings suffered their second consecutive defeat in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, after Abhishek Sharma's blitz and a clinical bowling spell guided Sunrisers Hyderabad to a six-wicket victory on Friday at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.
"In the bowling, we felt it was a slow wicket. So we wanted to take the powerplay on. We had a chance to prepare well before the IPL. We knew it will be slow but not if we take on the bowler. Because it would be difficult for the bowler as well. Big scores matter, but I went with the flow today. Hopefully, I will get out next time. It is all the hardwork I have put before this. Special thanks to my dad, Yuvi paaji and Brian Lara," said Abhishek in a post-match presentation.
Abhishek is having a wonderful tournament so far, scoring 161 runs in four matches at an average of 40.25 and a strike rate of 217.56, with a fifty. His best score is 63 and the all-rounder is fifth-highest scorer in the league so far.
Coming to the match, SRH won the toss and opted to bowl first. Rachin Ravindra (12) and skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad (26 in 21 balls, with three fours and a six) got out early, reducing CSK to 54/2 in 7.1 overs.
Then knocks from Shivam Dube (45 in 24 balls, with two fours and four boundaries), Ravindra Jadeja (31 in 23 balls, with fours boundaries) and Ajinkya Rahane (35 in 30 balls, with two fours and six) took CSK to 165/5 in their 20 overs.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1/28), T Natarajan (1/39), skipper Pat Cummins (1/29) and Jaydev Unadkat (1/29) were among the wickets for SRH.
In the run-chase, Travis Head (31 in 24 balls, with three fours and a six) and Abhishek Sharma (37 in 12 balls, with three fours and four sixes) started off really well, taking SRH to 106 in 9.4 overs. Aiden Markram scored a brilliant half-century (50 in 36 balls, with four boundaries and a six). Heinrich Klaasen (10*) and Nitish Reddy (11*) took SRH to a six-wicket win.
Moeen Ali (2/23) was the pick of the bowlers for CSK. Deepak Chahar and Maheesh Theekshana got a wicket too.
Abhishek's explosive knock earned him the 'Player of the Match' award.
SRH has climbed to the fifth spot with two wins and two losses in four games, giving them four points. With the same win-loss ratio, CSK is in the third spot with four points due to a better run-rate.
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