Chennai XI vs Hyderabad XI 44th Match at Sharjah, 30 Sep, 2021

Toss: Chennai, who chose to bowl
Hyderabad XI 134/7 (20)
Chennai XI 139/4 (19.4)
Chennai Super Kings won by 6 wickets
Man of the Match: Josh Hazlewood
  • MS Dhoni 15 * (13)
  • AT Rayudu 16 * (12)

Over 15.6 Jason Holder bowls it short of length to MS Dhoni,1 run, hops into a pull down to deep sqaure leg for a single to get off the mark

Over 16.1 Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowls a pitched up delivery to MS Dhoni,1 run, gets forward and clipped away towards mid-wicket for a single

Over 17.2 Siddarth Kaul bowls a good length delivery to MS Dhoni, no run, stays on the backfoot and runs his bottom-hand through the drive to mid-off

Over 17.3 Siddarth Kaul bowls a good length delivery to MS Dhoni, no run, gets forward and  pushed softly to mid-off again

Over 17.4 Siddarth Kaul bowls a pitched up delivery to MS Dhoni,1 run, gets forward and drives it hard past the man at short cover and gets a single.

Over 18.1 Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowls a pitched up delivery to MS Dhoni,1 run, moves on the off-side and delayed whip away towards long-on for one

Over 18.4: Wide ball. Bhuvneshwar Kumar to MS Dhoni, 

Over 18.4 Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowls a pitched up delivery to MS Dhoni, Boundary! Gets waits on it and thrashes it flat through cow corner for four

Over 18.5 Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowls a pitched up delivery to MS Dhoni, no run, gets forward and squeezes it out towards short cover

Over 18.6 Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowls a slower one to MS Dhoni, no run, backs away in the crease and tries cutting it away but the pace it off, ends up miscuing

Over 19.2 Siddarth Kaul bowls a pitched up delivery to AT Rayudu,1 run, gets under the ball and slices it down towards sweeper cover for one

Over 19.3 Siddarth Kaul bowls it short of length to MS Dhoni, no run, rock back in the crease and mistimes a pull shot straight to short midwicket. 

Over 19.4 Siddarth Kaul bowls a good length delivery to MS Dhoni,Six! Opened up his stance and freed those muscular arms, and crashed it, as it sails into orbit.

Chennai Super Kings won by 6 wickets

CSK qualified for the play-offs 11 times out of 12, now. SRH, No.8, are the first team to be knocked out of IPL 2021.

Kane Williamson (SRH): Not quite enough runs. It wasn't an easy surface and although we didn't get enough we showed a fighting spirit in the last quarter with the ball. We need 10-15 extra runs with the bat though and we need to make those small changes. After the powerplay we were 40-something and although you feel like you want more, it was a good start on that surface. You want to score a few more runs though, but we saw some nice contributions from the lower order. We need to improve. This team is at the top of the table. If you make better decisions with the bat, the final score could have been a little more. CSK played really well. It looked challenging and variable. We are back to the drawing board. Although every match is about the W or the L against your name, you do look at the growth of the team. This season has been a bit disjointed given that it was played in two halves, but we'll look to grow and build some momentum.

MS Dhoni (CSK): It means a lot, because the last time, we said we wanted to come back strong. We are known for that and there was a lot at stake. You won't always win games and a lot didn't go our way last time, and it's important not to make excuses and we have done that this year. The boys did well to keep the momentum going, and they've taken responsibilties to keep all departments of the game in balance so the players and the support staff get the credit. The bounce of the wicket was different - instead of knee height, it was shin height, and once the batsmen figured out that they have to hit straight, they succeeded. The bowlers tried to swing it up front and got hit straight when then pitched it up too much, but then adjusted very well. If the off ball stopped, it started coming onto the bat later. Not much needs to be said of the fans, who have supported us through thick and thin and I'm glad we have repaid their faith.

Josh Hazlewood is the player of the Match