Pune: Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway stitched 182 runs, the highest opening stand here at the MCA Stadium, followed by Mukesh Choudhary's four-wicket haul helped Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to beat Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by 13 runs in an IPL match on Sunday.
Gaikwad (99 off 57) and Conway (85 not out off 55) set the tone of the match, taking CSK to 202/2.
In reply, SRH started off well but Mukesh Choudhary's (4/22) brilliance restricted them to 189/6 in spite of Nicholas Pooran's fighting knock of 64 not out off 33.
SRH openers Abhishek Sharma and Kane Williamson got off to a flying start, adding 52 runs in five overs. But Mukesh's double strike in the next over derailed SRH's train.
Abhishek, who was dropped on 20, departed for 39 as he didn't time his pull. And in no time the incoming Rahul Tripathi was removed for a golden duck. Causing further dent to SRH's chase, Mitchell Santner removed Aiden Markram for 17.
However, Williamson and Pooran quickly rebuilt the innings to bring SRH back on track. CSK were in no mood to let the Gaikwad-Conway show go in vain. It was Dwaine Pretorius who ended the blossoming partnership by trapping skipper Williamson for an enterprising innings of 47.
Pooran found the much-needed support in Shashank Singh but the return of Mukesh brought only miseries for SRH. Mukesh again struck twice, dismissing Shashank (15) and Washington Sundar (2).
West Indies' stylish batter Pooran didn't give up. He fought till the end, ensuring the defeat didn't affect his side's net run rate much. Earlier in the day, the pair of Gaikwad and Conway looked in a different zone as they raced to 40 in the powerplay and in no time took CSK to 100 in 11 overs.
Along the way, Gaikwad registered his IPL fifty off 33 balls. It was raining sixes and fours at the venue as the duo charged SRH' bowlers aplenty.
Initially, Conway was playing the role of second fiddle, but soon upped his game to reach his half-century off 39 balls.
Gaikwad, who was on 99, missed out on a well-deserved century in the 18th over. On T Natarajan's slower ball Gaikwad looked to cut for a single but couldn't keep it down and was easily caught by Bhuvneshwar Kumar at backward point.
As a heartbroken Gaikwad, whose innings was decorated with six sixes and as many fours, walked back to the dugout, skipper MS Dhoni joined Conway in the middle.
In the final over, Natarajan also removed the Indian legend as he flicked straight into the hands of Umran Malik at short fine leg.
Meanwhile, Conway, who smashed eight boundaries and four maximums, punished Natarajan for two back-to-back fours to take CSK past the 200-run mark and also remain unbeaten.
For SRH, Umran (0/48) and Natarajan (2/42) were the most expensive bowlers. (UNI)
