SRH bowlers restrict CSK to 132 for five

A brilliant performance by bowlers helped Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) restrict Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to a paltry 132/5 in the Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, here on Wednesday.

Electing to bat, Chennai's innings started slowly with openers Shane Watson and Faf du Plessis scoring just 14 runs in the first four overs. Both Bhubaneswar Kumar and Khaleel Ahmed bowled superb lines and lengths and restrained batsmen from scoring.

But in the last two powerplay overs, both Watson and du Plessis hit some lusty shots and took the score to 41-0 at the end of six overs. Both the batsmen looked comfortable at the crease and collected boundaries at will.

But left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem broke the 79-run opening partenrship as he clean bowled Watson at 31 in the ninth over of the game. Vijay Shankar, included in the World Cup squad, celebrated his selection by sending du Plessis (45) to the hut in the next over.

Suresh Raina and Ambati Rayadu tried to steady the ship before star leg-spinner Rashid Khan trapped CSK stand-in skipper in front of the wickets. Two balls later, Kedar Jadhav (1) was also caught in front of the wickets, leaving CSK in a spot at 99-4 after 14 overs.

Sam Billings, included in the team in place of injured MS Dhoni, didn't trouble the scorers and became the victim of Ahmed.

Ravindra Jadeja (10*) and Rayadu (25*) struggled in the death overs on a slow Hyderabad pitch and they couldn't score many boundaries as the visitors would have liked. The SRH bowlers were disciplined towards the end of the innings and gave just 30 runs in the last five overs.

Brief score: Chennai Super Kings 132 in 20 overs (Faf du Plessis 45, Shane Watson 31; Rashid Khan 2/17)

--IANS

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