Eshan Malinga was the decisive figure as Sunrisers Hyderabad edged Chennai Super Kings in a tense finish in the Tata Indian Premier League, played at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Saturday.
The young quick struck at crucial moments, removing Sarfaraz Khan (25) and Dewald Brevis (0) in the middle overs to swing momentum back the Sunrisers’ way as they sealed a tight win by 10 runs to climb into the top four.
Holding their nerves and jumping into the Top 4⃣ on the points table 🧡@SunRisers make it 🔙 to 🔙 victories with a last-over win against #CSK 👏
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 18, 2026
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/uJG04r8iXD #TATAIPL | #KhelBindaas | #SRHvCSK pic.twitter.com/8EdGMHWgPA
CSK won the toss and elected to field first, a decision that looked sound when they clawed things back after a ferocious start from the Sunrisers.
Sunrisers Hyderabad posted 194 for nine, driven by a commanding innings from South African Heinrich Klaasen and Abhishek Sharma (59), before CSK’s chase stalled at 184-8, falling short despite a blistering powerplay.
Klaasen was the backbone of the SRH innings, smashing 59 off 39 balls including six boundaries and two maximums with clean, brutal hitting that kept the scoreboard ticking when wickets fell around him.
1⃣0⃣th #TATAIPL fifty when his team needed it 👌
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 18, 2026
Heinrich Klaasen makes it count again 🔝
Updates ▶️ https://t.co/uJG04r8iXD #KhelBindaas | #SRHvCSK | @SunRisers pic.twitter.com/Y2TfQcLhA5
Abhishek’s explosive half-century at the top gave SRH early thrust as the opener struck six fours and four sixes, bringing up his 11th IPL fifty from just 15 balls, but Jamie Overton’s (4-0-37-3) incisive middle-over spell dragged CSK back into the contest and briefly threatened to derail the hosts.
The chase began at pace, but Malinga’s intervention proved decisive.
His spell of 3-29 included the wickets of Sarfaraz and South African youngster Brevis, who endured a night to forget with a golden duck.
Once those blows landed, CSK lost momentum, and despite late resistance, they could not close the gap as Praful Hinge (4-0-60-1) held his nerve at the death.
SRH held on with discipline in the final overs, while CSK were left ruing missed opportunities in the middle phase.
For the hosts, Klaasen’s composure and Malinga’s cutting edge stood out; for CSK, the failure of Brevis to contribute and the inability to finish strongly ultimately proved costly.
SUNRISERS HYDERABAD: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan (c), Heinrich Klaasen, Salil Arora (wk), Aniket Verma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivang Kumar, Praful Hinge, Sakib Hussain, Eshan Malinga.
CHENNAI SUPER KINGS: Sanju Samson (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Sarfaraz Khan, Shivam Dube, Dewald Brevis, Jamie Overton, Matthew Short, Anshul Kamboj, Noor Ahmad, Mukesh Choudhary, Gurjapneet Singh.