Sharjah: Three-time champions Chennai Super Kings became the first team to qualify for the playoffs of the IPL 2021 with a six-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in Match 44 of the tournament at Sharjah Cricket Stadium here on Thursday.
In pursuit of a 135-run target, openers Faf du Plessis (41) and Ruturaj Gaikwad (45) provided a terrific start as they stitched a 74-run opening stand. Quick cameos from Ambati Rayudu (17* off 13) and skipper Dhoni (14* off 11) helped CSK to win the match by 6 wickets in hands.
Earlier, Josh Hazlewood registered his best-ever IPL bowling figures – 3/24 – while Dwayne Bravo picked up a couple of wickets as Chennai Super Kings restricted Sunrisers Hyderabad to 134 for 7 after opting to bowl. Wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha top-scored with 44 off 46 balls while no other batter could score than 18 runs.
Brief Scores: Sunrisers Hyderabad 134/7 in 20 overs (Wriddhiman Saha 44, Abhishek Sharma 18, Josh Hazlewood 3/24, Dwayne Bravo 2/17) lost to Chennai Super Kings 139/4 in 19.4 overs (Ruturaj Gaikwad 45, Faf du Plessis 41, Jason Holder 3/27, Rashid Khan 1/27).