As the sun sets,
RELENTLESS Brendon carries on his World Cup form, hits first century of season as Super Kings beat Hyderabad
CHENNAI: The scoops are back. On Saturday, the innovative shot was back after a brief interval post the World Cup. One of its most devastating exponents — Brendon McCullum — was at the forefront of its perfect execution.
The New Zealander, who wowed fans with his jawdropping batsmanship during the quadrennial tournament, enthralled the IPL faithful with a 56-ball 100 to lead Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to a comfortable 45-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad on Saturday.
McCullum’s effort included seven fours and nine big sixes. He dispatched the bowlers with disdain and showed no signs of weakness. His two scoops for six off fellow Kiwi Trent Boult and Ishant Sharma were the highlight of his knock.
Winning the toss, CSK opted to bat. The stage was set and McCullum obliged. He started sedately, scoring just a boundary from the first six balls he faced. The seventh ball though went well into the stands as the Kiwi danced down the track parcelling the ball over mid-wicket for six.
McCullum followed a measured approach first up. He came into his own only after getting his eye in, a stark change from his overenthusiastic batting in the previous match where he perished cheaply.
He cruised to his 50 in 38 balls with a six off Ishant, who bore the brunt of his clobbering. In one Ishant over, McCullum hit two sixes and a boundary off consecutive deliveries. Ishant ended up conceding 23 in the over. He conceded 46 runs from three overs.
CSK raced to 150 in just 99 balls on the back of McCullum’s pyrotechnics. The ordeal for the visitors had not ended. Captain STEPHEN FLEMING, CSK coach on McCullum and Trent Boult
MS Dhoni joined the party. He added 53 runs in just 28 balls. The duo added 63 for the third wicket with Dhoni taking the lead in the fireworks.
Such was Dhoni’s dominance that, during his stay at the crease, McCullum only added 10 runs to his score. McCullum CHENNAI SUPER KINGS @TmDilshan_23
Just saw Brendon Mccullum’s scoops :) & how good he played that. #IPL8
— Tillakaratne Dilshan
@KaifSays
Well if you have @msdhoni and #McCullum playing death over against you,all reached his hundred in dramatic fashion, scoring 11 runs in the final three balls of CSK’s innings, and with it steering them to a commanding score of 209 for four in 20 overs.
In reply, it was the lone resistance of Sunrisers captain David Warner that posed any threat. The Australian scored 53 runs in 42 balls. He looked confident despite the rising rate. However, a short ball, which hit the side of the helmet, by Ishwar Pandey looked to have rattled Warner. He perished in Pandey’s next over with the score at 114 for four and the team still needing 95 off 30 balls.
The result was a foregone conclusion after that. Sunrisers ended their innings at 164 for six, handing Chennai their second win in as many games. SUNRISERS HYDERABAD you can do is only pray for mistakes to happen! #CSKvsSRH #eit20
— Mohammad Kaif
@pandey_ishwar
Well played brendon Mccullum u rock it
— Ishwar
Pandey CHENNAI: