Chennai: Ravindra Jadeja's three-wicket haul was complemented by a magnificent unbeaten fifty from opener Devon Conway as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) cantered to a comfortable seven-wicket win against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in a low-scoring IPL match here on Friday.
Jadeja (3/22) spun a web of spin with a three-wicket haul to restrict SRH to a below-par 134 /7 and Conway then slammed a 57-ball 77 not out as CSK made light of the target, reaching 138/3 in 18.4 overs for a fourth straight win over SRH at Chepauk.
The stylish left-handed batter hit 12 fours and one six during his knock and shared an 87-run stand with opening partner Ruturaj Gaikwad (35) to provide a rollicking start to the chase.
Conway and Ruturaj Gaikwad took CSK past 50 in the sixth over.
Conway waded into the tall pacer Marco Jansen, smacking a six and four boundaries.
The New Zealand batter reached his 50 from 33 balls to power CSK's chase, overshadowing the talented Gaikwad in the process.
The opening duo appeared set to see the team home when misfortune struck Gaikwad, who was run-out after a shot by Conway got deflected off Umran Malik's hand and hit the stumps with the CSK batter out of his crease.
Leg-spinner Mayank Markande was the best performer with the ball for SRH on a rather forgettable day, finishing with 2/23 off his four overs). He got the wickets of Ajinka Rahane (9) and Ambati Rayudu (9), bowling the latter with a googly.
In the end, Moeen Ali (6 not out) hit the winning boundary of Washington Sundar.
Earlier, it was trial by spin for the SRH batters as the CSK slow bowlers, especially Jadeja, came up with a superb performance to restrict the visiting team to a modest 134/7.
Jadeja was the best bowler for CSK with 3 for 22, while Abhishek Sharma (34) was the top scorer for the Sunrisers, who just couldn't get going after being sent in to bat by skipper M S Dhoni.
SRH batters faltered despite a 35-run partnership for the opening wicket between Harry Brook (18) and Sharma and a 36-run stand for the second wicket between Sharma and Rahul Tripathi (21) as the CSK spinners took over.
There was no significant partnership in the middle order as theSRH batters failed to push the score, struggling against the spinners.
The experienced Jadeja and Maheesh Theekshana (1/27) strangled the SRH batting unit after Dhoni made the spinners bowl in tandem from overs seven to 15.
Jadeja, as always, got through his four overs quickly and put the brakes on the SRH scoring. He picked up the wickets of Sharma, Tripathi and Mayank Agarwal (2).
Such was the dominance of the spinners that after 10.3 overs, SRH batters couldn't get any boundary off the next 36 balls.
