Travis Head was on strike, the batters' happy hours were still on, and he had the license to get greedy for more. With 75 runs on the board, both openers still in the middle, and two balls still remaining to wrap up the Powerplay - it was the kind of start that Sunrisers Hyderabad like to manufacture on a sub-par day.
This compulsive need to take quick control makes opposition teams twitchy while coming up against their top order. Stephen Fleming had admitted as much on the eve of the game, and in the quest to ensure that control wasn't lost, CSK even included Matthew Short, hoping the Australian's part-time offspin would keep SRH's left-handed trio in check.
The trick, as suggested by the match-up computers, seemed to work for a while - only 12 runs were scored off the bat in Short's first two overs. That reading would have been much better had the spinner not erred in his length and bowled one right into the slot for Abhishek Sharma, who tonked it over long on for a six.
Nonetheless, largely it was still a plan working for CSK till then. So, at the start of the fifth over, they stretched their luck and handed the offie another go at the left-handed openers. Head pulled one through mid wicket and turned the strike over. With the scoring rate of 9.5 requiring a surge, Abhishek upped the risk. He made room for himself and repeatedly hit against the turn and on the up, securing himself 24 runs off the next five balls, each of which crossed the boundary ropes - on the bounce or directly. The assault threw CSK off their plans, and Short out of the attack.
Within 15 balls, Abhishek had brought up another half-century, SRH had powered to another strong start, and CSK were suddenly looking listless. With only two balls left for the Powerplay to end, Head had all the license to maximise it. In a bid to hit Mukesh Choudhary over the infield, he mistimed a full-toss, and Ruturaj Gaikwad provided CSK the moment of magic his team was searching for - a fine, low diving catch, running towards his left from mid on - to end the partnership and seize back momentum.