New Delhi: Eshan Malinga‘s accurate death bowling was pinpointed as the reason for Sunrisers Hyderabad‘s 10-run win over Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2026, said retired South Africa pace great Dale Steyn.
Malinga picked up 3/29 in four overs as SRH defended their 195-run target, limiting CSK to 184 for eight and Steyn said their bowling the end was as much important in the win as Abhishek Sharma and Heinrich Klaasen‘s fiery knocks.
“When CSK needed to play big shots, the pinpoint yorkers came in from Malinga, right on the block hole. It was a fantastic bit of death bowling from SRH at the back end,” Steyn told Star Sports.
“The first ball he bowled, where he got Gaikwad out, he rushed him with the bouncer. There were a lot of length balls being bowled at that point and runs were flowing. Then, he surprised Gaikwad with the bouncer and got his wicket.
“I thought he bowled well, managed his lengths well, and as the ball got a bit older and started to tail, he managed to hit the block hole. It was a fantastic piece of bowling by this young lad from Sri Lanka,” Steyn said.
Klassen on top
Sharma’s 22-ball 59 was complemented by Klaasen’s 39-ball 59 which made the South African wear the Orange Cap with 283 runs in six matches, which is a testament of his consistency.
“Klaasen knows he has the potential to clear the ropes easily and up his strike-rate whenever he wants. He is such a boundary hitter, a powerful hitter. This season, he has played incredibly well and held the innings together for Sunrisers,” Steyn said.
“Whenever they get into a little trouble and lose a couple of wickets, Klaasen is always there, standing like a one-man army to bail them out and get them to good scores.
“He is also wearing the Orange Cap now. With his consistent batting performances, he truly deserves to be the holder of that cap this season.”
The win could be the turning point for SRH, and could enable them to climb up the points table, Steyn felt.
“At the mid-innings break, I was having a chat with Heinrich Klaasen, and he told me he felt Sunrisers were probably 10 or 15 runs short of where they needed to be. He said a huge bowling effort would be required to secure the win. That is what Sunrisers went out and did,” the former pacer said.
“You could see they fielded extremely hard. They took tough catches. They were committed to the cause. When they finally won, I was watching Heinrich Klaasen fielding at long-off. He turned to the crowd, pumped his chest, and held the SRH badge to say, ‘Thank you for backing us, we’re back in this’.”