Chennai beat Hyderabad by 5 wkts

SHARJAH: Chennai Super Kings overcame some anxious moments before huffing and puffing to a five-wicket win over a fighting Sunrisers Hyderabad in a thrilling Indian Premier League Twenty20 cricket match at Sharjah on Sunday.

Chasing 146 for their fourth win in a row, Chennai achieved the target with three balls to spare as openers Dwayne Smith (66) and Brendon McCullum (40) laid a solid foundation with their 85-run partnership in 10.5 overs.

Chennai were cruising at one stage, needing just 22 runs from the last five overs with eight wickets in hand but young Indian paceman Bhuvaneshwar Kumar changed the complexion of the game by dismissing Smith and Faf du Plessis (0) in consecutive deliveries in the 16th over.

CSK needed six runs off the last over, bowled by Amit Mishra, and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni finished it off in style, dismissing a full toss to square leg boundary.

It was Australian batsman Aaron Finch's fighting 44-run knock and a splendid rearguard action that propelled Hyderbad to a competitive 145 for five.

Finch added 52 runs for the third wicket with Lokesh Rahul (25) and had it not been for some lusty hits by Darren Sammy (23 not out) and Karan Sharma (17 not out) towards the end, Hyderabad would not have posted a decent total.