Ishan Kishan delivered an outstanding innings of 70 runs from 47 deliveries, leading Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) to a commanding five-wicket win against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in their IPL 2026 encounter at Chennai on Monday. CSK managed 180/7 in their allotted 20 overs after choosing to bat first, with Dewald Brevis contributing the highest score of 44. SRH captain Pat Cummins claimed three crucial wickets. Chasing the target, SRH faced early setbacks losing openers Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma. Nevertheless, Heinrich Klaasen’s aggressive 47 and Ishan Kishan’s brilliant performance secured victory with six balls remaining. This outcome ensures SRH and Gujarat Titans (GT) advance to the playoffs, leaving CSK’s qualification chances extremely slim. Sunrisers Hyderabad enters playoffs after Kishan’s batting effort.
TOSS
Chennai Super Kings won the toss and elected to bat first.
PLAYING XI
Sunrisers Hyderabad (Playing XI):
Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan(w), Heinrich Klaasen, Salil Arora, Smaran Ravichandran, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Pat Cummins(c), Shivang Kumar, Eshan Malinga, Sakib Hussain, Praful Hinge
Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI):
Sanju Samson(w), Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Urvil Patel, Kartik Sharma, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, Prashant Veer, Akeal Hosein, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Spencer Johnson
CHENNAI SUPER KINGS
Sanju Samson launched the first proper ball of the match over the boundary for a maximum, immediately following up with a crisp four. This explosive beginning gave CSK valuable early momentum. Though his stay lasted merely 13 deliveries, Samson’s initial assault provided the foundation CSK desperately needed. Urvil Patel also cleared the boundary rope twice, though he visibly struggled against the variations that Pat Cummins deployed skillfully.
These early boundaries proved crucial as Ruturaj Gaikwad couldn’t handle the cutters bowled by SRH’s pace attack. His disappointing knock ended in the 12th over – a laborious 15 from 21 balls – when he mistimed a pull shot straight to deep midwicket.
The pitch made timing extremely difficult, with the ball refusing to come onto the bat smoothly. Rotating strike became as challenging as clearing the boundary. Nevertheless, Kartik Sharma and Dewald Brevis capitalized on the few scoring opportunities available. Besides dispatching fuller deliveries effectively, Kartik managed to get underneath several balls and clear the ropes against Praful Hinge. Unfortunately, while attempting to attack Cummins, he became the captain’s second scalp in the 8th over.
Although Gaikwad struggled, CSK maintained a reasonable position at his dismissal thanks to their aggressive start. The crucial 59-run partnership between Dewald Brevis and Shivam Dube established the platform for CSK’s competitive total. This alliance began by dismantling Nitish Kumar for 18 runs in the 14th over, disrupting the bowler’s rhythm completely. The 16th over witnessed Brevis truly taking charge, launching Cummins for a six before flicking him elegantly to the boundary. Cummins, who had conceded just 16 runs while taking three wickets in his first three overs, was hammered for 12 in his final spell.
With bowlers constantly varying their pace, boundaries remained difficult to find. Both Brevis and Dube fell attempting big shots. Brevis mistimed a pull while Dube was deceived by a slower delivery. However, occasional boundaries kept flowing, allowing the home team to reach a challenging total on this tricky surface.
SUNRISERS HYDERABAD
For Sunrisers Hyderabad to simplify their chase, capitalizing on the new ball like Samson had done earlier was essential. Although Abhishek struck a few boundaries in the first over, big hits didn’t flow freely. Head departed early, but Kishan arrived with aggressive intentions. While his opening boundary came via an edge, he placed subsequent shots intelligently, helping SRH accumulate 12 runs from the fourth over. With the ball gripping the surface, SRH’s typically explosive top order couldn’t unleash their usual fireworks.
When Abhishek fell, sweeping Akeal Hosein to fine leg in the eighth over, the required run rate had climbed above 10 per over.
On a pitch where most batsmen struggled with timing, Klaasen appeared remarkably composed. He began by cutting Noor to the boundary, then reverse-swept Akeal Hosein for four before lofting the spinner for six. His strokeplay was crisp, and just as he was gaining momentum, he swept Noor directly to deep square leg. However, Spencer Johnson’s diving attempt resulted in a dropped catch.
This proved extremely expensive. The visitors gained crucial momentum as Klaasen blazed his way to 47 from 26 balls, combining with Kishan for a match-defining 75-run partnership in just 41 deliveries.
4.6.6
In a match characterized by batting difficulties, three late boundaries in SRH’s innings effectively decided the outcome.
Needing 23 runs from 14 balls, the contest remained delicately balanced, with the required rate reflecting the innings’ pattern. Anticipating Mukesh Chaudhary’s line away from the hitting zone, Ishan Kishan moved across and hammered a powerful drive down the ground. He concluded the over with a fierce pull over deep square leg. Though Kishan departed next over after Anshul Kamboj recovered from being hit for six, the damage was done. Smaran Ravichandran sealed victory with a boundary off the final ball of that over.
Brief Scores:
Chennai Super Kings 180/7 in 20 overs (Dewald Brevis 44 [27], Kartik Sharma 32 [19], Sanju Samson 27 [13]; Pat Cummins 3-28, Eshan Malinga 1-26) lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad 181/5 in 19 overs (Ishan Kishan 70 [47], Heinrich Klaasen 47 [26]; Mukesh Choudhary 2-36).
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