IPL 2021, SRH vs CSK: Josh Hazlewood, Dwayne Bravo heroics restrict Sunrisers to 134

Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood and Windies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo showcased their prowess against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) while representing Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in an IPL 2021 encounter on Thursday. Hazlewood accounted for three wickets with Bravo registering two dismissals, to help restrict the Hyderabad-based franchise to a paltry total of 134 runs for the loss of seven wickets. The Australian helped send Jason Roy, Abhishek Sharma and Abdul Samad back to the pavilion, with the English batter capable of being a game-changer on his day. Bravo struck with the massive dismissals of Kane Williamson and Priyam Garg. Ravindra Jadeja was in the thick of action yet again, striking with the key wicket of opener Wriddhiman Saha.

Saha was the top run-getter for SRH, accumulating 44 runs off 46 deliveries. None of the other batsmen managed to score more than 20 runs which is an indication of their inability to leave much of an impact.

Hazlewood was full of praise for his teammates, hailing them for a “pretty good” performance.

“It was a little bit challenging at times but it was low and slow. We stuck to our strengths in the end with our wide yorkers and straight yorkers with the big side. All in all, pretty good performance. Right ball at the right time with the right field, that sounds easy but probably trying to stay one step ahead of the batter in most occasions and just try to get the field right for what he’s going to do next. That’s the main thing I have been working on,” he said as quoted by Cricbuzz.

“(Playing under Dhoni) It’s been awesome, he sort of plays his cricket the same way I do, very relaxed and calm and keeps it very simple. Even under huge pressure in big games, he’s very simple and very calm and I certainly enjoy that. (Key to the run chase) Wickets in the shed, just playing good cricket shot rather than slogging the ball,” added the Australian cricketer.

Bowlers back MS Dhoni’s decision to field

MS Dhoni opted to field after winning the toss, which could well have backfired. Dhoni largely stuck with the winning combination, making only one change from the lineup for the last game. Bravo was back in the CSK setup in place of Sam Curran. SRH skipper Kane Williamson went in with an unchanged lineup, which meant the absence of David Warner yet again.

“All the boys have been brilliant”

Dhoni termed his decision to field as being influenced by the smaller dimensions on the ground, as well as the freshness of the wicket.

“We’ll bowl first because of the smaller dimensions and looks like a fresh wicket. When you keep playing here, it tends to slow down a bit. The fresh wicket will play fair, might slow down a bit as the match progresses, but it may not be as slow as the other wickets. In a tournament like this, it becomes difficult to come back. This year, all the boys have been brilliant. Whatever time we got at the practice sessions, we have made the most use of it. Lot of players were playing international cricket and people who were not playing made sure that they turn up early and do a bit of practice,” said the CSK skipper as quoted by Cricbuzz.

“Taking one game at a time really helps. If you take care of the game, that takes care of where your position is in the points table. We are not thinking about that (top-two finish), we just want to make sure that we execute our plans brilliantly and we keep learning from each and every game. We have one change, Bravo comes back in place of Sam,” added Dhoni.