Chennai Super Kings captain Ruturaj Gaikwad admitted that his team lost critical momentum in the middle overs as they fell short by 10 runs against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Southern Derby at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 on Saturday night. CSK had been well placed during the chase, but a sharp slowdown after the 10-over phase made the final stretch increasingly demanding.
What Gaikwad said after the loss
- Gaikwad said CSK had read the contest well by looking at Sunrisers Hyderabad’s powerplay output and expected a bigger score to be available.
- He felt the game shifted after the 10-over mark, when CSK managed only four runs in the next two overs.
- That period, in his view, proved decisive because the required run rate rose sharply as the innings moved into the death overs.
- Gaikwad added that chasing 12–13 runs per over late in the match becomes extremely difficult, even with late contributions.
- He also praised CSK’s bowling group, noting it has delivered well across the last three matches and kept things disciplined with the ball.
- In particular, Gaikwad highlighted Abhishek’s performance in the powerplay and said the overall bowling effort was strong.
- He further singled out young pacer Anshul Kamboj for his clear execution, especially during the final overs, describing how Kamboj shows clarity about his plans.
“Looking at how their power play went, I was looking at a score around 220–230. To pull it back by 30 runs, I would have taken it any day under 200. It was just about 80 runs needed in 10 overs (with the bat). From there, it was just about building a couple of partnerships. We scored just 4 runs in the next 2 overs after the 10-over mark. Chasing 12–13 at the death is going to be difficult,” Gaikwad said during the post-match presentation.
“It’s been three successive games that the bowling unit has been doing really well. Even the power play today, I thought Abhishek played brilliantly. I think everyone did a good job (with the ball),” he added.
“He (Anshul Kamboj) is working really hard on his bowling, especially the death bowling. Very rarely you get bowlers who have clarity and tell the captain that I know what to do, this is what I am going to do,” Gaikwad said as he praised Kamboj’s approach.
How the match unfolded in Hyderabad
Sunrisers Hyderabad edged past Chennai Super Kings by 10 runs in a high-scoring, tightly contested encounter at Hyderabad.
- First innings: Sunrisers Hyderabad posted 194/9 after batting first.
- Sunrisers’ big contributions came from Abhishek Sharma and Heinrich Klaasen, with both scoring half-centuries—Abhishek made 59 off 22 balls and Klaasen hit 59 off 39.
- Abhishek struck early at a rapid pace to set the tone with a record-fast fifty, while Klaasen steadied the innings after early wickets.
- CSK’s bowlers kept Sunrisers from crossing 200, with Jamie Overton taking 3/37, Anshul Kamboj recording 3/22, and Mukesh Choudhary finishing with 2/21.
- Second innings: CSK received key boosts through Ayush Mhatre (30 off 13), Matthew Short (34 off 30), and Sarfaraz Khan (25 off 16).
- Despite those sparks, Sunrisers’ bowlers—led by Eshan Malinga (3/29) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (2/31)—tightened the contest in the middle and death overs.
- Regular breakthroughs disrupted CSK’s momentum, and although CSK pushed late, they were unable to build the acceleration needed.
- Outcome: Chasing 195, CSK fell 10 runs short and finished just behind, as Sunrisers’ disciplined bowling proved decisive.
With the victory, Sunrisers Hyderabad moved up to fourth place, collecting three wins from six matches. Chennai Super Kings, meanwhile, slipped to seventh position with two wins from their first six games.
