IPL 2018 Final: Watson fires CSK to third title with 8-wicket win over SRH

Mumbai: Shane Watson’s magnificent ton in the 2018 Indian Premier League (IPL) final against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) powered Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to their third title at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.

Chasing a challenging 178 after putting the opposition to bat, the table-toppers got off to a flyer early on by getting rid of Faf du Plessis, who emerged as the dangerman in the first Qualifier.

The pressure took a toll as CSK failed to make most of the power play, finishing at 35-1. Later on, Watson and Suresh Raina took time to settle before unleashing their very best.

The duo put on a massive 117-run partnership for the second wicket to take the game away from the opposition. Watson, in particular, grabbed SRH by the scruff of the neck as he battered the bowlers all around the park.

The Yellow Army lost Raina and Dwayne Bravo, but the big Australian kept firing as SRH ran out of steam. Ambati Rayudu and veteran Watson later ensured there were no more hiccups as CSK secured a thumping 8-wicket victory.

CSK 181-2 after 18.3 overs:

THREE IN A ROW! The mighty Yellow Army finish with 9 balls to spare and clinch the IPL trophy after a two-year absence.

CSK 154-2 after 16 overs:

SRH are staring at defeat and CSK looking well settled here. Rayudu is the new man in and the opposition need some quick wickets.

CSK 145-2 after 14 overs:

WICKET! Much-needed breakthrough for SRH and Raina is already walking away. Banged in short by Brathwaite, Raina gets a glove while playing the hook shot that heads straight to the keeper.

CSK 131-1 after 14 overs:

ABSOLUTE BONKERS! 0,4,6,6,6,WD,4 and Watson looks unstoppable as she smokes Sandeep Sharma for 27 runs in the 13th over. What a massive turnaround this! Required RR now down to nearly 7 RPO and it's a night to forget for the bowler.

CSK 104-1 after 12 overs:

What a massive turnaround for CSK! Have gone from strength to strength after the powerplay and now there's no stopping them. Can SRH get back here?

CSK 95-1 after 11 overs:

FIFTY FOR WATSON! Will his knock prove to be the game changer? He brings up his half-century of 33 balls, 10 of them dot before he opened his account.

CSK 80-1 after 10 overs:

Raina finishes off with a boundary but it's another decent over from Rashid. Can the spinners deliver a breakthrough for SRH here? Game on! 

CSK 72-1 after 9 overs:

After a shaky start, CSK are turning things around here. Fifty partnership comes up between Watson-Raina and both the batsmen look well set.

Stat: Fourth lowest powerplay score for CSK this season and three of them have come against SRH.

CSK 56-1 after 8 overs:

Tidy first over by Rashid Khan, just five runs given away. Could he be the key man for tonight?

CSK 51-1 after 7 overs:

FIFTY UP! Two big overs and CSK are back and alive in the chase. Watson is looking dangerous already and the opposition will need to be wary of the big Aussie.

CSK 35-1 after 6 overs:

Much-needed over for CSK and a big one. Watson is getting in the groove after eating up some dot balls early on. Some contribution from Raina at the other end will provide some much-needed boost!

CSK 20-1 after 5 overs:

Brilliant start this from SRH! Required run rate now close to 11 RPO for CSK. Signs not looking good.

SRH 16-1 after 4 overs:

WICKET! Big wicket to start with. Change of pace does the trick for Sandeep as Faf du Plessis charges down the track but is deceived by the knuckle ball. Ball goes high up and the bowler calls for it, takes it easy peasy.

Phew! Watson finally opens his account after 10 balls. More needed from the big man.

CSK 10-0 after 3 overs:

Five dots from Bhuvneshwar again but an unnecessary overthrow by Deepak Hooda gives away five runs.

CSK 5-0 after 2 overs:

Just one boundary given away as Sandeep Sharma bowls another tight over. CSK need to get going soon!

CSK 0-0 after 1 over:

Beautiful first over by Bhuvneshwar Kumar as he kicks off with a maiden. Hitting good lengths and the ball is doing the rest.

1st innings:

Yusuf Pathan played a brilliant unbeaten knock of 45 runs as Sunrisers Hyderabad posted 178-6 against Chennai Super Kings in the final of the 2018 Indian Premier League at Wankhede Stadium.

After being asked to bat first, SRH lost opener Shreevats Goswami before he was run-out for just 5 runs. Skipper Kane Williamson and Shikhar Dhawan then steadied the team's innings to put together 51-run partnership before, Dhawan was clean bowled by Ravindra Jadeja.

Kane Williamson’s 37-run stand with Shakib-Al-Hasan was brought to an end by Karn Sharma, when he had him stumped by CSK skipper MS Dhoni for 47 runs. 

Shakib along with Yusuf Pathan decided to give some acceleration to SRH innings as both the batsmen put on 32-run partnership before Shakib was dismissed by Dwayne Bravo for 23.

Pathan then took the responsibility to accelarate the innings and together with Carlos Brathwaite at the other end, the two hard-hitters kept the momentum alive in the death overs. 

Have SRH done enough to ensure they get their hands on their second IPL title? 

SRH 178-6 after 20 overs:

Carlos Brathwaite was dismissed on the final ball of the final over for 21-runs. Yusuf Pathan remained unbeaten on 45-runs to ensure that SRH managed to put up fighting a total on board for their bowlers. 

SRH 144-5 after 17 overs:

WICKET! Lungi gets his first wicket of the night. Back of a length delivery, Hooda flicks it straight towards the man at deep square leg.

SRH 133-4 after 15.5 overs:

WICKET! Dwayne Bravo strikes for CSK, Shakib-Al-Hasan whpo was looking dangerous is dismissed by the West Indian in the fifth ball of the 15th over caught by Suresh Raina.

SRH 126-3 after 15 overs:

With in form batsman Kane Williamson back in the dug out, Yusuf Pathan and Shakib-Al-Hasan have taken the attack to the opposition.

Stat: Dhoni has now managed 33 stumpings, which is most in the IPL. The CSK skipper goes ahead of Robin Uthappa (KKR) who has 32 stumpings to his name.

SRH 101-3 after 12.1 overs:

WICKET! SRH skipper Kane Williamson is gone stumped by Dhoni off Karn Sharma. The bowlers sees the batsman coming down the track and fires the ball wide for Dhoni to make an easy stumping.

SRH 73-2 after 10 overs:

SRH lose the important wicket of Shikhar Dhawan as CSK bowlers continue to build pressure on the opposition.

SRH 64-2 after 8.3 overs:

WICKET! Ravindra Jadeja has struck, SRH lose Shikhar Dhawan in the third ball of the eight over. The left-hander is bowled for 26 runs. Dhawan goes for the sweep, but the ball hits his thigh pad of the back leg and hits the stumps

SRH 30-1 after 5 overs:

Not an ideal start for the Orange Army as wicket-keeper Shreevats Goswami departed early thanks to some brilliant work from Karn Sharma and MS Dhoni. Skipper Kane Williamson and Shikhar Dhawan are once again doing the repairing role after early damage.

WICKET! Goswami is gone and SRH lose their first wicket in the final ball of the second over. There was no second run. The batsman tucking the ball to square leg and calls for second run. Karn Sharma comes from long leg and fires a throw at strikers end for Dhoni to remove the bails in flash.

Stat: If CSK beats SRH tonight, they will become the first team in IPL history to beat an opponent four times in single season.

Preview:  The stakes cant get bigger than this. After the completion of  59 matches only two teams remaining in the picture Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad.

The southern flavor is all set to spice up the western coast when Wankhede Stadium will host the two giants from the south.

Also Read: IPL Trophy will go to Chennai

After winning the ICC 2011 World Cup at the same venue, MS Dhoni will be looking to gain glory same venue for the second time while leading CSK, who are making a comeback after two year hiatus. The yellow brigade is appearing in seventh finals in the nine attempts after having won the trophy in 2010 and 2011 season.

Also Read: IPL 2018 Final: 15 Key stats, facts you need to know ahead of CSK-SRH clash in Mumbai

For SRH, this is a great chance to regain glory after 2016 triumph under the leadership of David Warner. Possessing one of the most lethal bowling attacks it is not surprising to see the team going from strength to strength in the tournament by winning the game from the losing position.

Not only the match is expected to be a nail-biting one, but there will also be some key battles that could title the match in anyone's favor.

Also Read: IPL 2018 Final, CSK vs SRH: Probable playing XI, squads, live streaming and more

Lungi Ngidi is all set to take on SRH skipper Kane Williamson who is currently holding the orange cap as the leading run-getter in this edition. Rashid Khan will be going against MS Dhoni. The last time these two players were against each other at the same venue, it was Rashid who won the battle, but this time around Dhoni will be looking to get the better of the Afghan spinner. Pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Siddharth Kaul will be looking to tackle the threat of opener Shane Watson and Suresh Raina.

Also Read: IPL 2018 Final: Southern spice grips Mumbai as CSK face SRH in pressure-cooker battle

With glory at stake both the teams will give their 100 percent on the field and in the end, there will be only one team that will lift the trophy after the hard battle.

Teams:

Toss: Chennai Super Kings have won the toss and opted to field first

Chennai Super Kings make one change with Karn Sharma coming in for Harbhajan Singh

Sunrisers Hyderabad makes two changes Sandeep Sharma comes in for Khaleel Ahmed. Sreevats Goswami comes in for Wriddhiman Saha.

Squads

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH): Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kane Williamson (captain), Manish Pandey, Rashid Khan Arman, Shikhar Dhawan, Wriddhiman Saha, Siddarth Kaul, Deepak Hooda, Syed Khaleel Ahmed, Sandeep Sharma, Carlos Brathwaite, Shakib Al Hasan, Yusuf Pathan, Shreevats Goswami, Mohammad Nabi, Chris Jordan, Basil Thampi, T Natarajan, Sachin Baby, Bipul Sharma, Syed Mehdi Hasan, Ricky Bhui, Tanmay Agarwal.

Chennai Super Kings (CSK): MS Dhoni (Captain), Ravindra Jadeja, Suresh Raina, Dwayne Bravo. Karn Sharma, Shane Watson, Shardul Thakur, Ambati Rayudu, Murali Vijay, Harbhajan Singh, Faf Du Plessis, Mark Wood, Sam Billings, Imran Tahir, Deepak Chahar, David Willey, Lungisani Ngidi, Asif K M, N Jagadeesan, Kanishk Seth, Monu Singh, Dhruv Shorey, Kshitiz Sharma, Chaitanya Bishnoi.

When is the match?

The match is scheduled to start at 7 P.M. IST on Sunday, May 27th.

Where is the match?

The match will take place at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.

Live telecast and timings:

With Star India now acquiring the media rights from Sony Pictures Network India for the upcoming season, the matches will be telecast on various Star Sports channels.

Live streaming:

The matches can be viewed live on Hotstar.com or on the Hotstar app.