Sunrisers Hyderabad secure place in IPL playoffs with five-wicket victory

There was much on the line for both teams in Chennai this night, but SH's batting lineup came up trumps once again, sending CSK back to the chalkboard to figure out if they can sneak into the IPL playoffs.

The slow and grippy wicket provided some assistance for the bowlers, so when CSK set 180/7, it was not going to be straightforward.

SH did not get their usual explosive start. Billigerent openers Abishek Sharma (26) and Travis Head (6) were both back in the hut by the eighth over with just 56 on the board, well behind the required rate.

Former Proteas star Heinrich Klaasen injected life into the innings. He batted wonderfully with Kishan, scoring 47 off just 26 balls before getting stumped thanks to tweaker Noor Ahmend's deception.

Klaasen's effort took SH to the brink, but Kishan's creativity virtually got them over the line. He continued to find the boundary with consummate ease despite several agricultural swipes. He fell for a swashbuckling 70 (from 47) with nine balls left, but his teammates only needed six runs to book their place in the playoffs.

Earlier, it was a string of cameos that got CSK to 180. Sanju Samson and captain Ruturaj Gaikwad raced to 31 off 14 deliveries before Pat Cummins drew the faintest of edges off Samson's willow.

Sakib Hussain clean bowled Urvil Patel (13) in the fifth over, then Cummins got his second in the tenth with a well-disguised slower ball that got rid of dangerman Kartik Sharma (32), leaving the hosts 90/3. In his next over, Cummins then put the ailing Gaikwad (15 off 21 balls) out of his misery.

South Africa's Dewald Brevis and Shivam Dube then blasted 59 off the next 38 balls to propel CSK forward. It could have been more, but Brevis, who top scored for CSk with 44 from 27, fell to a superb inswinger from Eshan Malinga with two overs left.

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