IPL 2018: Qualifier 1 - Chennai Super Kings Beat Hyderabad by 2 Wickets to Enter IPL Final

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) banked on a marvellous Faf du Plessis’ inning to beat Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by two wickets in the qualifier one at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

In a game dominated by the bowlers, du Plessis played his best knock to guide his team to the finals of the 11th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Chennai bowlers justified MS Dhoni’s decision to put Hyderabad to bat first after winning the toss. The likes of Deepak Chahar, Lungi Ngidi, and Shardul Thakur swung the new ball brilliantly. As a result, the Hyderabad batsmen found it tough to get going in that challenging 22 yards.

Chahar cleaned Shikhar Dhawan on the first ball of the innings, as Hyderabad had the worst possible start. Although Kane Williamson and Shreevats Goswami (12) tried to build the innings but struggled in front of top-class bowling.

Meanwhile, wickets at regular intervals reduced the table-toppers to 88 fo six in the fifteenth over. All the big guns were back in the pavilion and it looked like Hyderabad will not cross the 100-run mark.

Carlos Brathwaite, who was only playing his second game, however, had other things in mind. He stitched small partnerships and tried to bat the whole 20 overs. As a result, SRH managed to post 139 runs on the board with Brathwaite remaining unbeaten on 43 runs.

However, what looked like a cakewalk for the in-form Chennai, Hyderabad bowlers stood upto their reputations. Bhuvneshwar Kumar removed Shane Watson for not in the first over. It was the same script, as Suresh Raina partnered Faf du Plessis to steady the ship.

However, two back to back wickets from Siddarth Kaul shook the Super Kings batting. Kaul cleaned up Raina (22) from the back and then rattled Ambati Rayudu’s stumps with a perfect yorker.

Further, it was Rashid Khan’s turn to show his magic with the ball. The leg-spinner from Afghanistan castled Dhoni’s timber with a perfect wrong-un.

Two more wickets from Hyderabad ensured Chennai were reeling at 66 for six at the end of 13 overs. With 74 needed from 42 balls, things started getting tough for the men in yellow.

However, du Plessis scored 20 runs from the 18th over off Brathwaite to shift the tides in their favour.

With 23 needed off 12, Williamson handed the ball to Kaul. Shardul Thakur (15* off 5) played the inning of his life to take 17 runs off the 18th over to help Chennai inch closer to the victory.

With six runs required from the last over, du Plessis (67*) struck six off the first ball to take his team to the finals of this edition of IPL.

Brief Score: SRH 139/7 ( Brathwaite 43*, Bravo 2/25) CSK 140/8 (du Plessis 67*, Rashid 2/11)

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