DUBAI: The youngsters of Sunriders Hyderabad came to the fore in beating Chennai Super Kings by seven runs in the Indian Premier League yesterday.
The 19-year-old Priyam Garg and 20-year-old Abhishek Sharma combined for 77 runs from 69-4 and top-scored for Hyderabad in setting 164-5 to defend.
The 18-year-old Abdul Samad, a batsman who part-time legspins, was then entrusted to bowl the last over of the match, when Chennai needed 28 to win with Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sam Curran in the middle.
The over started badly for Samad with five wides, and Dhoni hit a boundary, but three singles followed and the last ball was a six by Curran. But Samad conceded only 20 and could celebrate. Chennai was short on 157-5.
“It’s a good thing for the team that the youngsters executed,” Samad teammate Rashid Khan said.
“Samad is a strong hitter of the ball and he delivered with the ball. He was so relaxed, so calm. That’s what I like about him. When the captain told him he’ll bowl the last over, he was smiling.”
Hyderabad’s second win in four days left Chennai on the bottom of the eight-team standings after a third straight defeat in four matches.
BRIEF SCORES: Sunrisers Hyderabad 164 for 5 (Garg 51, Sharma 31) beat Chennai Super Kings 157 for 5 (Jadeja 50, Dhoni 47*, Natarajan 2-43) by seven runs