IPL 2022 | CSK vs SRH | Superstar of the match

CSK faced SRH in the 17th match of IPL 2022. The game turned out to be a one-sided affair as Hyderabad won the match convincingly. With the win, Hyderabad registers their first win of the tournament, while CSK’s losing streak continues.

CSK put up a total of 154 runs, which looked a competitive one given the slowness of the pitch. But young Abhishek Sharma showed great composure and maturity and made the total look relatively easy. Once settled, he did not give away his wicket, which ensured that SRH always had a set batter at one end. Here is how he progressed during his stay at the pitch.

Table: Abhishek Sharma vs CSK

Observation: Abhishek Sharma was a perfect mixture of composure and controlled aggression. He never allowed the CSK bowlers to settle with his counter-attacking brand of cricket. His attacking display allowed Kane Williamson to settle down, and thus the team got to a solid start. The SRH team will be hoping that Sharma continues with his form and keeps giving them some solid and brisk starts. His well-paced innings in the match earns him the 'Superstar of the Match'.

Underperformer of the Match: Ravindra Jadeja

Chennai posted a total of 154 runs for SRH to chase down. The required run rate for SRH at the start of the innings was 7.75, which appeared defendable as the pith looked slow.

CSK needed to stick to their basics and build pressure on SRH with regular wickets. What CSK needed was an aggressive bit of captaincy from the beginning. But it lacked intent while they were trying to defend the moderate total. Instead of going for the kill, it looked like CSK was trying to control the run rate. The bowlers looked clueless about what they needed to do. Also, immediately after the 6th over of the SRH innings, Jadeja opened up the field, trying to protect boundaries. The situation demanded close-in fielders building pressure on the batters and inviting them to play the risky shots. 

The lack of intent and trying to play safe cricket as a leader of the CSK team makes Ravindra Jadeja the ‘Underperformer of the Match’.