Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) edged past Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by a narrow margin of 10 runs in an exciting IPL 2026 encounter that remained uncertain until the final over, played in Hyderabad on Saturday. Abhishek Sharma’s explosive 15-ball fifty combined with Heinrich Klaasen’s half-century propelled SRH to 194/9 across 20 overs. Abhishek achieved the joint-fastest fifty of IPL 2026, equaling Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s record. In reply, CSK stumbled from a promising position, unable to score the required 84 runs in their last 10 overs. Eshan Malinga spearheaded SRH’s bowling attack with a three-wicket haul. This victory pushes SRH into the top four, while CSK stay near the bottom of the table. CSK Chase Fails as SRH Death Bowlers Perform Well .
TOSS-
Chennai Super Kings won the toss and decided to bowl first.
PLAYING XI –
Sunrisers Hyderabad (Playing XI):
Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan(c), Heinrich Klaasen, Salil Arora(w), Aniket Verma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivang Kumar, Praful Hinge, Sakib Hussain, Eshan Malinga
Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI):
Sanju Samson(w), Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Sarfaraz Khan, Shivam Dube, Dewald Brevis, Jamie Overton, Matthew Short, Anshul Kamboj, Noor Ahmad, Mukesh Choudhary, Gurjapneet Singh
SUNRISERS HYDERABAD-
The explosive opening duo (Abhi-Head) established a rapid 75-run partnership in 5.5 overs to set the foundation, with Abhishek spearheading the assault. The initial phase of the Powerplay yielded just 23 runs, but chaos erupted in the following 16 deliveries. After settling against the off-spinner, Abhishek unleashed fury on Matthew Short with 4,4,4,6,6 to reach his 15-ball fifty by the fifth over’s conclusion. Head contributed with three boundaries against Mukesh Choudhary in the sixth over. Choudhary then closed the Powerplay by claiming consecutive wickets, dismissing both the Australian and SRH captain Ishan Kishan.
The middle-overs squeeze proved challenging. Noor Ahmed nearly had Abhishek dismissed right after the Powerplay when a catch was dropped, but Jamie Overton minimized the damage by successfully reviewing a caught-behind appeal to remove him. Overton continued dismantling middle-order partnerships, denying SRH any momentum recovery. Even impact substitute Liam Livingstone failed to contribute significantly. Strangely, Choudhary never returned to bowl despite being on a hat-trick. Nevertheless, Anshul Kamboj and Gurjapneet excelled in the death overs, conceding merely 17 runs while taking 4 wickets across the final three overs to limit SRH.
CHENNAI SUPER KINGS-
CSK’s Powerplay mirrored SRH’s output but cost them an additional wicket. The openers targeted Praful Hinge early, yet Nitish Reddy struck immediately to dismiss Sanju Samson cheaply. Ayush Mhatre and Ruturaj Gaikwad continued the aggressive approach, building a 51-run stand in merely 20 balls before Mhatre’s hamstring problem disrupted their rhythm. Klaasen had earlier dropped a difficult catch to give Mhatre a lifeline, which cost SRH 30 runs in 12 deliveries before the South African could make amends. Eshan Malinga then struck with his first delivery to dismiss the CSK captain and level the contest.
Brief contributions supported Short. The Australian anchored the innings while receiving assistance from Sarfaraz Khan, who contributed a brisk 19-ball 25, followed by Shivam Dube, who struck a six and four during his 16-ball 21. However, wickets fell in clusters, leaving CSK with a steep challenge in the closing stages.
Malinga’s two vital strikes gave SRH complete control. CSK required 84 runs from the final ten overs, but losing established batsmen proved costly. Malinga removed both Sarfraz and Short, delivering exceptional figures of 3-29 from four overs. Meanwhile, Dewald Brevis departed without scoring. Despite Overton’s determined effort to keep CSK’s hopes alive, the consistent fall of wickets in the latter half sealed their fate.
Brief scores:
Sunrisers Hyderabad 194/9 in 20 overs (Abhishek Sharma 59 off 22, Heinrich Klaasen 59 off 39; Anshul Kamboj 3-22, Jamie Overton 3-37) defeated Chennai Super Kings 184/8 in 20 overs (Matthew Short 34 off 30, Ayush Mhatre 30 off 13; Eshan Malinga 3-29) by 10 runs.
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