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New Zealand Super Kings chased down the 135-run target set by Sunrisers Hyderabad with 6 wickets and 2 balls to spare, becoming the first team to enter the playoff round. Dhoni gave victory to his team by hitting a brilliant six off the ball of Siddharth Kaul. Last time in the IPL, Dhoni's army failed to reach the playoffs. This happened to him for the first time. In such a situation, forgetting the disappointment of the last time, Dhoni's army entered the playoffs while staying in the first position.
Chennai, ranked seventh in IPL 2021, has entered the playoffs/semi-finals for a record 11th time. No other team has been able to do this in IPL. Three-time champions CSK are eyeing a fourth title win this time.
Du Plessis Ruturaj gave Chennai a great start
Chasing the target, Chennai Super Kings were once again given a great start by Faf du Plessis and Ruturaj Gaikwad. Both took the team past 50 runs in 6.4 overs. In 10 overs, Chennai scored 75 runs without any loss. After this, on the first ball of the 11th over, Jason Holder sent Gaikwad back to the pavilion after being caught by Kane Williamson. He scored 45 runs in 38 balls.
Holder put him in trouble, Dhoni won by six
Moeen Ali, who came to bat after Gaikwad's dismissal, led the innings with du Plessis and scored fast. He did not let Ruturaj's dismissal make any difference to the team. Both took the team past 100 runs in 13.2 overs. But in the subsequent over, Rashid Khan bowled Moeen for 103. Moin scored 17 runs in 17 balls. After this, in the very next over, Holder put Chennai in trouble by taking the wickets of Suresh Raina and Faf du Plessis.
In such a situation, MS Dhoni, the world's best finisher, along with Ambati Rayudu, gave the team victory with 2 balls and 6 wickets to spare. Dhoni, in his familiar style, gave the team victory by hitting the winning six in the direction of mid-on.
Hyderabad set a target of 135 runs for Chennai
Electing to bat after winning the toss, Sunrisers Hyderabad could score 134 runs for 7 wickets in 20 overs. The bowlers of Chennai Super Kings kept the Hyderabad batsmen tied from beginning to end and did not allow them to bat freely. Wriddhaman Saha was the most successful batsman of Hyderabad, he scored 44(46) runs. Dwayne Bravo and Josh Hazlewood bowled brilliantly and broke the back of Hyderabad's batting. Bravo took 2 for 17 and Hazlewood took 3 for 24. On the other hand, Jadeja and Thakur got one success each.
Dhoni has made a change in his team. Dwayne Bravo has returned in place of Sam Curran in the XI. On the other hand, Sunrisers Hyderabad team has decided to go against Chennai without any change.
If Chennai Super Kings managed to register a win in today's match, they will become the first team to qualify for the playoffs. In IPL 2020, Dhoni's stalwarts were put to shame in the UAE itself and the team could not qualify for the playoffs for the first time in IPL history.
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