19-year-old Garg inspires Sunrisers win over struggling Super Kings
Teenager Priyam Garg smashed a maiden Indian Premier League half-century as Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Chennai Super Kings by seven runs in Dubai on Friday.
The 19-year-old Garg top scored with an unbeaten 51 off 26 balls after the Sunrisers’ top-order stars failed to fire.
Garg and 20-year-old Abhishek Sharma (31 from 24) put on 77 for the fifth wicket in seven overs to get David Warner’s side up to 164-5, Deepak Chahar taking 2-31.
That proved to be enough for Sunrisers to secure back-to-back victories and move up to fourth, as bottom side CSK fell short on 157-5 – slumping to a third loss in a row for the first time since 2014.
Ravindra Jadeja (50 from 35) struck a first IPL half-century and MS Dhoni finished 47 not out, but the Super Kings remain on one victory in a poor start to the tournament.
They needed 28 off the last over to pull off an unlikely win and although Abdul Samad started with five wides and Sam Curran finished the match with a six, Chennai were unable to avoid another defeat.
Rashid Khan conceded just 12 runs from his four overs, but Sunrisers’ win came at a cost as Bhuvneshwar Kumar suffered a thigh injury.
YOUNG GUNS STEP UP FOR SUNRISERS
Jonny Bairstow was cleaned up by an inswinger from Chahar without scoring in the first over and Sunrisers were 69-4 after 11 overs when Kane Williamson was run out.
With Warner (28) and Manish Pandey also back in the pavilion, it was left to Garg and Sharma to come to the rescue.
Garg hit a six and found the rope six times, while Sharma – who only turned 20 last month – also struck a maximum and another four boundaries as the young guns delivered for Sunrisers.
There was another memorable moment for man of the match Garg when his throw saw the back of the dangerous Faf du Plessis, run out for 22.
RASHID TURNS THE SCREW, CONCERN FOR KUMAR
Leg-spin sensation Rashid starred with 3-14 in a victory over Delhi Capitals last time out and he delivered again.
The Afghanistan tweaker did not add to his wicket tally for the tournament, but his 16 dot balls were the most in an innings in the 2020 edition of the tournament.
Only Sheldon Cottrell (47), Jasprit Bumrah (47) and Mohammad Shami (42) have bowled more deliveries without conceding a run in the opening four matches of the IPL than Rashid, who has racked up 41 dots.
The injury to Kumar in the penultimate over is a cause for concern for Warner’s in-form side, though.
DHONI AND JADEJA MILESTONES NO CONSOLATION
Captain Dhoni and Jadeja reached milestones with the bat, but that would be no consolation for the experienced duo.
Dhoni moved to the 4,500-run mark in the IPL and Jadeja has 2,000 under his belt, yet their knocks were not enough to pick up much needed points.
