In the IPL 2025 Game no 43, we got to see a real face-off between the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and the Sunrisers Hyderabad at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, 25 April. Losing the toss at the beginning of the game, Hyderabad had to bowl first and what a start it began. Mohammed Shami, who was the top bowler, created a loud voice by taking the wicket of the first ball of the match.
CSK backed the efforts of Shaikh Rasheed and Ayush Mhatre, but it did not last for long. Rasheed was an unfortunate duck, having been caught by Abhishek Sharma after a Shami ball, which was something out of this world. This was a ding-dong start and, apart from setting the tone for the game, led Shami to break an IPL record. That wicket makes him the only bowler four times during his entire IPL career, in making a wicket on the first delivery of an innings.
Given the explosive start, Sunrisers Hyderabad placed immense pressure on CSK and made things difficult for these five-time champions to settle down and score easy runs. Now let’s take a step back and see how both these teams do in this tournament: not in the best of seasons for either of these teams, and at the moment, both are hanging towards the bottom of the standings, with 10th and 9th places going their way. This is what makes it very rough for two teams that have been pretty successful in past seasons, and fans are anxiously waiting to see whether they can turn things around in the IPL this season.
