Chennai Super Kings may have suffered a narrow 10-run defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad, but the defeat still works in their favor as they move up a spot in the IPL points table.SRH successfully defended 194, with Ishan Malinga (3/29) bowling a disciplined effort and Shivang Kumar (1/18) providing crucial support. Despite being well placed at one stage, CSK finished on 184/8, needing just 84 runs from the last 10 overs. The partnership of Matthew Short (34) and Shivam Dubey (21) kept CSK in the hunt, but regular wickets and tight death bowling from SRH ensured they stayed out of the target.Earlier, SRH posted 194/9, helped by Abhishek Sharma’s 22-ball 59 and Henrik Klaasen’s 59. CSK responded well with the ball through Jamie Overton and Anshul Kamboj, who took three wickets each.How CSK went up despite the loss.Before the match, CSK were ranked 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. The surge was enough for CSK to leapfrog Lucknow Supergiants to seventh place, who also have four points but a poor 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 advantage.Here is the updated points table after Match 27 of Indian Premier League 2026:
