Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Chennai returned to the top of the eight-team standing of the ongoing 2019 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) after clinching a crucial six-wicket win over Hyderabad at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Hyderabad--who were captained by India's Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the absence of regular skipper Kane Williamson-- continue to stand at the fourth spot despite slumping to a defeat against Chennai, with a total of five wins from 10 matches they have played this season.
Asked to bat first, Hyderabad posted a good score of 175 for three in their stipulated 20 overs. After losing Jonny Bairstow for a duck, opener David Warner (57) and Manish Pandey (unbeaten at 83) not only struck blistering half-centuries but also stitched a huge partnership of 115 runs for the second wicket to set a good target for Chennai.
In reply, the Hyderabad bowlers failed to defend the huge target as Shane Watson pulled back his first half-century of the ongoing season, scoring 53-ball 96 runs, while Suresh Raina also chipped in with 24-ball 38 to help Chennai chased down the target with a ball to spare.
Virat Kohli-led Bangalore, who are languishing down at the bottom of the table with just three wins from 10 games, will play the next IPL clash against fifth-placed Punjab at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday.
Let us take a look at how the eight teams are placed in the standings ahead of the clash:
| Team | Matches | Won | Lost | Tied | NR | Pts | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chennai | 11 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 16 | +0.091 |
| Delhi | 11 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 14 | +0.181 |
| Mumbai | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 12 | +0.357 |
| Hyderabad | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 10 | +0.654 |
| Punjab | 10 | 5 | 5 | o | 0 | 10 | -0.044 |
| Kolkata | 10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 8 | -0.013 |
| Rajasthan | 10 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 6 | -0.470 |
| Bangalore | 10 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 6 | -0.836 |
Orange Cap:
By smashing 45-ball 57 against Chennai, Team Hyderabad opener David Warner has further strengthened his position at the top of the run-scoring chart. He is now sitting at the numero-uno spot with a total of 574 runs from 10 innings he has played this season at a strike rate of 146.05 and average of 71.75.
Warner's Hyderabad opening partner Jonny Bairstow, who went back to pavilion for a duck, continues to follow the Australian at the second spot with 445 runs from 10 innings at a strike rate of 157.24.
Punjab's swashbuckling opener Chris Gayle and Delhi's opener Shikhar Dhawan are placed at the third and fourth position with the scores of 421 and 401 runs from nine and 11 innings, respectively.
KL Rahul, who plays for Team Punjab in the ongoing season, rounds-off the top-five list with 399 runs from 10 innings.
Purple Cap:
Delhi pacer Kagiso Rabada continues to stand strong at the number one position in the list of highest wicket-takers of the 2019 IPL with 23 wickets from 11 matches.
Chennai's Imran Tahir is well-placed behind Rabada at the second spot in the Purple Cap table, despite going wicketless during his side's win against Hyderabad. He has bagged a total of 16 wickets from 11 innings.
Deepak Chahar, who dismissed Vijay Shankar during the match on Tuesday, has climbed up to the third spot and is now standing with 14 wickets in his tally from 11 games.
Chahar has replaced Bangalore's Yuzvendra Chahal, who too has 14 wickets in his account from 10 matches but stand behind the Chennai bowler at the fourth position because of economy rate.
Punjab fast bowler Mohammed Shami completes the top-five list with a total of 13 wickets from 10 innings at a strike rate of 8.70.
