Markram shines as Hyderabad pip Chennai

Aiden Markram struck a brisk half-century as Sunrisers Hyderabad overcame some late jitters to beat Chennai Super Kings by six wickets in the Indian Premier League on Friday.

The South African batsman hit four fours and a six in his 50-run knock to help Hyderabad overhaul Chennai’s below-par total of 165-5 with 11 balls to spare at the packed Rajiv Gandhi International stadium.

The victory lifted Hyderabad to fifth place in the 10-team competition with two wins from four games.

Chennai, led by the charismatic Mahendra Singh Dhoni, suffered their second defeat in the Twenty20 tournament and are  third.

“When we bowled, the first 10 overs or so, it (the ball) was coming on alright but it got tougher,” said Markram.

“So we took it on in the first 10 overs and were in a good position later.”

Chennai skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad said his batsmen failed to capitalise in the last five overs and put up a bigger total.

“It was a slow pitch. At the back end they bowled well,” he said.

“We were in a good situation halfway but they bowled well at the back.”

Hyderabad made a flying start with opener Abhishek Sharma hammering 27 runs including three sixes and two fours in the second over by Mukesh Choudhary.

But his heroics were cut short by Deepak Chahar who had Sharma caught by Ravindra Jadeja for 37.

Markram then steadied the innings with his well-composed knock off 36 balls before being trapped leg before by England’s Moeen Ali.

Ali then struck again in his next over to remove Shahbaz Ahmed (18), stunning the home crowd into silence.

Heinrich Klassen and Nitish Kumar Reddy however ensured there were no further setbacks and carried the team  past the target.

Chennai started slowly after being put in to bat, with openers Rachin Ravindra (12) and  Gaikwad (26) cautious in their approach.

Shivam Dube provided a fillip to the innings with a quickfire 45 off 24 balls studded with four sixes and two fours.

He appeared set for a bigger knock but was caught at backward point off Australian fast bowling star Pat Cummins.

Ajinkya Rahane (35) and Ravindra Jadeja (31 not out) also made useful contributions but Hyderabad bowlers did well to keep the batsmen in check.

A disciplined bowling performance meant CSK could only add 37 runs in the last five overs.