Fifth week of IPL-18: SRH finally beat CSK at Chepauk; teens shine on debut

SRH break Chepauk jinx vs CSKSunrisers Hyderabad SRH finally broke their Chepauk jinx They registered their firstever IPL win over Chennai Super Kings CSK at the MA Chidambaram Stadium beating them by five wickets on Friday Pacer Harshal Patel set up the win for last yearrsquos runnersup with his fourwicket haul 428 CSK were bowled out for 154 in 195 overs mdash the first time they were bowled out on home turf since 2019 SRH had faced CSK five times at Chepauk between 2013 to 2024 and lost each time This time however Pat Cumminsrsquos side looked determined to change the result in their favour with a disciplined bowling effort Overall SRH have played 12 games in Chennai and emerged victorious only on two occasions mdash against Punjab Kings PBKS and Rajasthan Royals RR in the 2021 and 2024 editions respectivelyTeenagers Vaibhav and Ayush dazzle on debutTeenagers Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Ayush Mhatre made dream IPL debuts with breathtaking performances Vaibhav just 14 years and 23 days old playing for RR against Lucknow Super Giants LSG on Saturday became the youngestever IPL debutant The southpaw announced himself in style by smashing pacer Shardul Thakur for a six off the very first ball There was no stopping the RR opener thereafter as he went on to hit three sixes and two fours en route a 34run knock off 20 balls setting the tone for RRrsquos chase Unfortunately the inaugural champions went on to lose the thrilling lastball encounter by just two runs The next day Mumbai boy and toporder batter Ayush Mhatre gave CSK a solid start against Mumbai Indians MI by slamming 32 off just 15 deliveries Coming in at No 3 he helped CSK gain momentum after the fivetime champions had made a slow start reaching just 161 in 31 overs He struck four fours and two sixes to lift CSK to 571 in 64 overs His innings however went in vain as CSK lost the game by nine wickets Both youngsters showed solid intent and a fearless approachRCB finally deliver at homeRoyal Challengers Bengaluru RCB finally managed to win at home thanks to a thrilling 11run victory over RR Prior to this encounter RCB had won all five of their away games but lost all three matches at home However they finally got the monkey off their back to give their home fans something to cheer about with a superb win in a highscoring contest RR were cruising towards the 206run target needing just 18 runs off 12 balls with five wickets in hand But RCB pacer Josh Hazlewood had other ideas The Sussie delivered a matchwinning spell turning the tide in RCBs favour by claiming two wickets and conceding just one run in the penultimate over Fans will be hoping RCB continue their momentum at home with three of their remaining five league matches to be played at the M Chinnaswamy StadiumRohit Sharma returns to form with backtoback fiftiesOpener Rohit Sharma has silenced his critics with a return to form scoring backtoback fifties mdash for the first time since IPL 2016 mdash to set up MIrsquos dominant victories over favourites CSK and Sunrisers Hyderabad respectively Though the India skipper had struggled in his previous six innings managing just 82 runs he showed intent by finding boundaries early this time Against CSK Rohit came in as an Impact Player and capitalised on short balls in the Powerplay to race to his maiden fifty in IPL 2025 off just 33 balls His unbeaten 76 off 45 deliveries laced with four fours and six sixes ensured MI won by nine wickets with 26 balls to spare He followed it up with a brilliant 70 off 46 balls against SRH an innings studded with eight fours and three sixes Rohit has hit form at the perfect time helping MI register four consecutive victories and climb into the No 3 spot on the points tableGill and Sudharsan set record for most 100run partnerships by an Indian pairShubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan have etched their names in the IPL record books by becoming the first Indian pair to register the most 100plus partnerships in the tournamentrsquos history The Gujarat Titanss GT opening duo have stitched together six partnerships of over 100 runs They achieved this feat with a 114run stand during GTs 39run victory over defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens on Monday Their most remarkable performance came against CSK last year when both scored centuries while amassing 210 runs for the opening wicket the first such instance in the tournaments history as GT went on to beat the then defending champions by 35 runs Notably this is their second century partnership in this years IPL the first coming during GTrsquos loss to LSG in Lucknow earlier this monthatOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params