Chennai Super Kings may have suffered a narrow 10-run defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad, but the loss still worked in their favor as they moved up one spot in the IPL points table.SRH successfully defended 194, with Eshan Malinga (3/29) leading a disciplined bowling effort and Shivang Kumar (1/18) providing crucial support. CSK finished on 184/8 despite being well-placed at one stage, needing just 84 runs from the final 10 overs. Contributions from Matthew Short (34) and Shivam Dube (21) kept CSK in the hunt, but regular wickets and tight death bowling from SRH ensured the target remained out of reach.Earlier, SRH posted 194/9, powered by a blistering 59 off 22 balls from Abhishek Sharma and a composed 59 from Heinrich Klaasen. CSK responded well with the ball through Jamie Overton and Anshul Kamboj, who picked up three wickets each.How CSK moved up despite the lossBefore the match, CSK were placed eighth with four points and a net run rate (NRR) of -0.846. Despite the defeat, the narrow margin significantly improved their NRR to -0.780. This boost was enough for CSK to climb to seventh place, overtaking Lucknow Super Giants, who also have four points but a poorer NRR of -0.804.In a tightly contested points table, even a defeat can make a difference, and for CSK, this loss came with a small but significant gain.Here’s the updated points table after Match 27 of the Indian Premier League 2026:
