IPL 2018: Final - Shane Watson's Ton Help Chennai Super Kings Lift IPL Trophy for 3rd Time

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) banked on Shane Watson to script history, as they came back after two years to lift the much-coveted trophy for the third time beating Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by eight wickets at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.

Meanwhile, many doubted on Chennai’s ability after the mega auctions, as most of their average squad size were over 30. However, they rest aside all the speculations with all their senior cricketers contributing significantly to their success.

Hyderabad failed to get off to a flier, as they lost Shreevats Goswami in the second over courtesy a runout. However, since then, skipper Kane Williamson and Shikhar Dhawan got the ball going for the Sunrisers. Williamson was at his usual best while Dhawan capitalised on the loose deliveries.

Meanwhile, Hyderabad suffered a setback in the ninth over when Ravindra Jadeja rattled Dhawan’s (26) timber. The untimely wicket couldn’t stop the run flow, as Shakib Al Hasan picked up exactly from where he left in the last game. The duo of Williamson and Shakib started scoring quickly, as the inning approached the halfway mark.

However, rookie spinner, Karn Sharma removed Williamson, as he tried to play a pre-meditated shot. The leg-spinner saw Williamson (47) coming out and bowled it wide on the off-stump with MS Dhoni doing the rest.

Hyderabad were reeling for 101 for three when Yusuf Pathan walked in the middle to change the course of the game.

The veteran all-rounder used all his experience to bring his best when it mattered the most. Pathan along with Carlos Brathwaite struck fiercely to cross the 150-run mark with ease. However, Chennai came back brilliantly in the last two overs to keep the score within 180. Lungi Ngidi finished his debut stint in India on a high with an impressive figure of one for 26 in his four overs.

Pathan remained unbeaten on 45 runs from just 25 deliveries including four boundaries and two sixes, as Hyderabad finished on 178 at the loss of six wickets.

Chennai, meanwhile, had a plodding start with Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Sandeep Sharma reaping some swing with the new ball. Kumar bowled a brilliant maiden over to start off the proceedings while Sandeep backed it up from the other end.

Struggling to get going, Chennai lost Faf du Plessis in the fourth over, as they were striving at 16 for one.

Since then, experienced duo of Suresh Raina and Shane Watson steadied the ship and started taking the attack to the opposition. Reeling at 35 for one six, Chennai shifted gears, as the hammered Siddarth Kaul to take 16 from the seventh over. They continued the onslaught with Watson leading the run chase.

Moreover, it was one-man show since then, as the former Australian all-rounder continued the carnage. He struck 27 runs off the 13th over to bring down the required run-rate under seven. Although he lost his partner Raina (32) at the other end, there was no stopping him. He brought his second IPL century of this season in just 51 deliveries to become the fourth batsmen to achieve so.

Meanwhile, Chennai scripted a spectacular comeback, as they reached the target with nine balls to spare, as Watson remained unbeaten on 117 runs from 57 balls.

Brief Score: SRH 178/6 ( Williamson 47, Ngidi 1/26) CSK (Watson 117*, Brathwaite 1/27)

Also read: Karn Sharma dismisses dangerous Kane Williamson