For the explosive starts Sunrisers Hyderabad have been getting in the Champions League, they would be mighty displeased with the ends. And if Thursday's loss to CSK was one they could take heart from, Saturday's thrashing at Titans' hands would be a hard pill to swallow.
Sunrisers were sailing at one point of time after Shikhar Dhawan and Parthiv Patel put together a quick opening partnership but a middle order implosion undid it.
On their part, Titans bowlers were lucky to get away after a bad start. They were either too full or too short. And Dhawan had no problem driving or pulling them. For a diminutive person, Patel too packed in surprising punch to his pull shots.
Dhawan however needlessly chased a wide ball pitched in short by David Wiese, holing it to Morne Morkel at third man. And in the next over, Patel was bowled by Weise.
Spin does it for CSK
Getting a visiting team batsman out is the biggest prize for any local sparring spinner. On Friday however, they were often seen taking the upper hand against a few Brisbane Heat batsmen.
It was a trailer of things to come. So when Jason Holder conceded 13 runs in the fifth over of Brisbane's innings, CSK captain MS Dhoni deployed R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja from both ends and got close in fielders.
{{/usCountry}}It was a trailer of things to come. So when Jason Holder conceded 13 runs in the fifth over of Brisbane's innings, CSK captain MS Dhoni deployed R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja from both ends and got close in fielders.
{{/usCountry}}The move not only plugged Brisbane's run flow, it also exposed how terrible batsmen raised solely on bouncy Aussie pitches can be against spin.