When Ishan Kishan kept wicket for 20 overs and saw Chennai Super Kings (CSK) being restricted to 180, largely by the 39 slower balls the Sunrisers Hyderabad quicks sent down in their 17 overs, he knew it was not going to be an easy chase.

Coming out at No. 3 in the third over, Kishan made sure he stayed at the crease till the end. Well, almost, as SRH needed only six to win off nine balls when he walked back after his 70 off 47 balls.

“When I was wicketkeeping, I just felt like this wicket is not easy,” Kishan said at the post-match presentation. “I still felt chasing this total is going to be a bit too much because wicket was not at all easy, especially when spinners were bowling and those slow balls were coming out very well. But at the same time as a No. 3 batter, I just hope my job is to just try and finish the game because, batters coming in, especially at the back-end, it’s difficult for them to take singles and at the same time score boundaries, so I had to just play till the last over.”

Kishan scored at a strike rate of 148.93, much lesser than the 179.48 that he’s gone at so far this season. He started by smashing three fours in an over off Spencer Johnson early in the chase that set up his 37-ball half-century. Once the chase got a little tricky towards the end when SRH lost their fourth wicket at the start of the 18th over and needed 23 from 14, Kishan ended Mukesh Choudhary’s night with a for a four and a six which brought it down to just 13 to get from 12.

“It was just about being there, believing in yourself,” Kishan said, “Sometimes the situation is difficult, but we all know how these games are won because you need to believe in yourself. You cannot doubt yourself at any point in time.

“So I was just trying to keep it simple, try and bat as many overs as I can because being a left-hander, being in the middle, it’s difficult for the bowlers to keep their areas right every time.”

The left-right pair of Kishan and Heinrich Klaasen came together in the eighth over, with SRH on 56 for 2 and the required rate above ten. Klaasen looked to be cautious at the start but couldn’t keep his boundary-hitting instincts down for long.

Despite finding the pitch challenging, Klaasen took on CSK’s spinners – Akeal Hosein and Noor Ahmad – early on to get going and ensured there was limited damage in the middle overs.

“Yeah, the first couple of balls I blocked and I said, ‘no, I can’t play cricket like this,'” Klaasen said. “I need to be aggressive on this wicket, and it went my way tonight. So yeah, I’m happy with the way I’m striking the ball. Hopefully it continues for the rest of the competition.

“[Pitch] stayed low, when we bowled the cutters looked a lot slower and kept quite low, and when they bowled, it skidded on quite nicely, but it was a little bit up and down. It’s one of the better Chennai wickets that I’ve played, but yeah, it’s not an easy place to come play cricket.”