Sunrisers Hyderabad registered their fourth win in Pepsi IPL 2015 after they defeated table-toppers Chennai Super Kings by 22 runs on Saturday. Playing their first match at their headquarters – the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad, SRH posted 192 runs on the board and then restricted CSK to 170-6.

The secret to SRH’s successful defence was that their bowlers kept chipping away wickets at regular intervals and their fielders supported the bowlers well taking all the catches that came their way. Every time CSK threatened with a partnership, one of the SRH bowlers would come in and nip the partnership. When Dwayne Smith and Suresh Raina were stitching together a partnership, Moises Henriques deceived the latter with a slower delivery and had him top-edging one to square leg. Henriques picked up a second wicket when he had Raina caught at long off.

From 68 for 3, Faf du Plessis (33 from 22 balls) and MS Dhoni (20 from 16 balls) resurrected the innings with a 46-run stand. Apart from finding the fence every now and then, the pair also ran well between the wickets and put pressure on the fielders. Just when it appeared that CSK were in control of the run-chase, the partnership had to end in an unfortunate manner. After Dhoni drove one straight into the du Plessis’ wrists at the non-strikers end, the ball deflected onto the umpire and landed adjacent to the pitch. The bowler Ashish Reddy was alert to the fact that du Plessis was attempting for a run, turned back from his follow through, picked up the ball and threw down the stumps at the non-striker’s end with du Plessis well out of his ground. That dismissal was a body blow to the visitors hopes of chasing down the target. Immediately after that dismissal, Reddy beat Dhoni with a slower delivery and castled him to all but seal the match in favour of his team. CSK finished their twenty overs at 170-6.

For SRH, it was a clinical performance by the bowlers. The wickets were shared between Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2-32), Henriques (2-20) and Ashish Reddy (1-19). The most pleasing aspect of the SRH bowling though was how frequently Bhuvneshwar and Praveen Kumar found the block holes.

Earlier in the evening, Sunrisers Hyderabad, after being put in to bat, finished their twenty overs at 192-7 - their highest total of Pepsi IPL 2015.

Skipper David Warner, who would walk away from the match with the Orange Cap, was the star of the innings. The left-hander opened his account with a cracking pull shot, and thereafter played some stunning shots. He cut the ball hard, creamed the ball through cover on occasions, drove fluently down the ground and punished short deliveries through midwicket. He was particularly severe on Mohit Sharma, off who he scored 28 runs from 9 balls, and on Ashish Nehra, off who he scored 21 runs from ten balls. The Australian raced to his half-century in 20 balls and needed only 28 balls for his 61; he hit eleven boundaries and a six during his stay at the crease, and dominated the 86-run opening stand with Shikhar Dhawan.

While Dhawan and Eoin Morgan played the role of anchor and generally ticked the strike over, the rest of the SRH batsmen played their shots. Dhawan was run out in the 13th over after he’d made 37 from 32 balls, while Morgan made 32 from 27 balls. Moises Henriques made a quickfire 19 (9 balls) and Naman Ojha contributed a 12-ball 20. SRH finished their twenty overs at 192 for 7; the 22-runs milked off Mohit Sharma would be the most expensive over of the innings.

For CSK, who fielded an unchanged lineup, Dwayne Bravo was the pick of the bowlers; though he bowled overs 8, 14, 18 and 20, he returned with impressive figures of 3 for 25. The left-armers Ashish Nehra and Pawan Negi, together with Suresh Raina, returned with a wicket each.

Mohit Sharma had a poor outing conceding 58 runs from his four overs, while the young lad Ronit More conceded 28 runs from his two overs.

Brief Scores

Sunrisers Hyderabad 192-7 in 20.0 Overs (David Warner 61, Dwayne Bravo 3-25) beat Chennai Super Kings 170-6 in 20.0 Overs (Faf du Plessis 33, Moises Henriques 2-20)

Man of the Match: David Warner, for his 28-ball 61.