IPL: Cummins, Hussain shine with ball as SRH restrict CSK to 180 in Chennai

Pat Cummins led the bowling effort with three wickets, while young Sakib Hussain claimed two scalps. Eshan Malinga also made a valuable contribution with a wicket of his own.

After winning the toss and opting to bat, Chennai Super Kings opened with Sanju Samson and Ruturaj Gaikwad. Samson set the tone early by hitting a six off Nitish Reddy, as CSK collected 17 runs in the opening over.

It marked the second-highest score by CSK in the first over of an Indian Premier League innings, behind the 19-run opening over against the Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens in 2015.

Samson continued his attack as he slammed three back-to-back fours off Praful Hinge in the second over. SRH skipper Pat Cummins struck in his first over as he removed Samson for 27, bringing Urvil Patel to the crease.

Patel once again got off to an aggressive start, smashing Pat Cummins for back-to-back sixes in the same over. Eshan Malinga then responded with a tight spell in the following over, conceding just three runs.

In the next over, Sakib Hussain struck to dismiss Patel for 13, bringing Kartik Sharma to the crease. After a blazing start in the first two overs, Sunrisers Hyderabad fought back strongly, restricting the hosts to 57/2 at the end of the powerplay.

Sharma opened up in the 8th over, taking Hinge for 16 runs with a flurry of aggressive strokes. However, Pat Cummins struck back in the very next over, dismissing the in-form Sharma for a well-made 32 and sending him back to the pavilion, bringing Dewald Brevis to the crease.

Cummins struck again in his next over, removing Ruturaj Gaikwad, who was struggling to get going and find timing at the crease. With that breakthrough, Shivam Dube joined Dewald Brevis in the middle to steady the innings.

Gaikwad endured a difficult stay at the crease, scoring 15 off 21 deliveries without a single boundary to his name. His 21-ball stretch without a boundary also marked the longest such sequence by an opener in the 2026 Indian Premier League season.

71.42 strike rate by Gaikwad is the second-lowest in an innings of 20 balls faced in IPL 2026 after 70.93 by Arshin Kulkarni (LSG) vs RCB at Lucknow.

The duo of Dewald Brevis and Shivam Dube steadied and carried the innings forward, guiding Chennai Super Kings to 132/4 after 15 overs.

Brevis slammed boundaries on regular intervals, while Dube anchored the innings from the other end. However, Eshan Malinga in the 18th over cleaned up Brevis for 44, bringing Prashant Veer to the crease.

SRH pulled back things as Hussain cleaned up Dube for 26, bringing Akeal Hosein in the second last over.

Hinge bowled a brilliant last over, conceding only 8 runs, and removed Prashant Veer to square off the home side at 180/7. (ANI)