Who won Sunday's (April 28) Indian Premier League (IPL) matches? Captain Ruturaj Gaikwad and pacer Tushar Deshpande starred for Chennai Super Kings as the hosts beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by a whopping 78-run margin at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Earlier, Will Jacks struck an unbeaten hundred off 41 balls to help the Royal Challengers Bengaluru register a nine-wicket victory over the Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad. (CSK Vs SRH, As It Happened | GT Vs RCB, As It Happened)
Invited to bat first on their home ground, CSK posted a strong total of 212 runs, courtesy skipper Gaikwad's 98-run innings off 54 balls. The 27-year-old smashed 10 fours and three sixes in his knock, and now has 447 runs in IPL 2024 to be ranked second in the Orange Cap race behind Virat Kohli (500 runs).
Daryl Mitchell scored a half-century (52 runs off 32 balls) and Shivam Dube (39 not out off 20) was once again in fine form and helped put the finishing touches to the CSK innings, alongside the legendary MS Dhoni (5 off 2 balls).
In response, SRH's power-packed opening pair of Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head could not do much as they were dismissed by successive deliveries from Tushar Deshpande in the second over. It was all downhill from there for the visitors as only Aiden Markram (32 off 26) managed to cross the 30-run mark and the team were bowled out for a total of 134 in 18.5 overs. Deshpande finished with four wickets, conceding 27 runs off three overs.
Captain Gaikwad was named the Player of the Match for his dashing 98-run knock that set the tone for the hosts' thumping win.
Meanwhile, in the afternoon fixture, GT batted first at the Narendra Modi Stadium and Wriddhiman Saha was removed in the first over with just six runs on the board as Gujarat's innings got off to a poor start.
Skipper Shubman Gill somewhat steadied the ship with 16 off 19 before his dismissal at 45/2. That brought in Shahrukh Khan, and he and Sudharsan combined to help their team set a competitive target of 201, supported by a key 29-run cameo from David Miller.
But Bengaluru's run chase got off to a flyer, accumulating 40 runs before opener Faf du Plessis was out in the fourth over. In came Jacks, and though he took some time to get his footing with 17 runs off his first 17 deliveries, the English all-rounder and Virat Kohli took over the game from the sixth over, when the pair joined forces for 15 runs before an 11-run seventh further boosted their chances of a win.
Jacks and Kohli edged their team towards the target before the former sealed the victory in remarkable fashion, hitting seven sixes and three fours for consecutive 29-run overs in the 15th and 16th, including a six to clinch the match with four overs to spare.
Jacks was named the Player of the Match for his match-winning innings that helped RCB easily chase down the target.
Points Table Update
Both CSK and SRH now have 10 points from nine matches, but by virtue of a better net run rate (0.810 as against SRH's 0.075), Gaikwad's team is placed third in the IPL 2024 points table. SRH are fourth, and play their next match against Rajasthan Royals in Hyderabad on Thursday (May 2) evening.
Meanwhile, GT are down to the seventh spot with eight points from 10 games, while RCB continue to be at the bottom with six points, despite the win. The two teams next play the return leg of their fixture in Bengaluru on Saturday (May 4) evening.
IPL 2024 Play-Offs Scenario
RR now are at 16 points, and look set to become the first team to qualify for the IPL 2024 play-offs. However, they aren't yet assured of a play-off spot mathematically, as all teams except Royal Challengers Bengaluru (formerly Royal Challengers Bangalore) can still reach 16 points.
