IPL 2018 Final, CSK vs SRH: Hits and Misses
It was a comeback season for the Chennai Super Kings and they have now completed a fairytale comeback. Up against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the big final, the MS Dhoni-led side was the better team as they clinched their 3rd IPL title.
MS Dhoni won the toss and had no hesitation to bowl first. CSK began really well as they conceded just 17 runs in the first four overs. However, Shikhar Dhawan and Kane Williamson slowly shifted gears before the former was cleaned up by Ravindra Jadeja. Williamson was also dismissed a few overs later for a well-made 47.
Shakib Al Hasan, Yusuf Pathan and Carlos Braithwaite all contributed with good solid cameos as SRH got to 178 in their 20 overs. CSK managed to do well at the back end as they conceded just two boundaries in the last couple of overs. Lungi Ngidi was the standout bowler as he had figures of 1/26 in his 4 overs.
Chasing a competitive and a stiff score, CSK were off to a slow start as Bhuvneshwar Kumar (who bowled 10 consecutive dot balls at the start) and Sandeep Sharma were superb upfront. Despite a 15-run over, CSK could manage only 35 in the powerplay with the loss of Faf du Plessis.
Watson who had taken 11 deliveries to get off the mark turned on the heat in the middle overs. He struck a wonderful century as he made the target of 179 seem quite easy at the end. Suresh Raina contributed with a good 32.
CSK got to the target in the 19th over as they ended a wonderful season with an IPL triumph.
#5 Miss: Dwayne Bravo
Dwayne Bravo started the IPL with a bang as he played a match-winning innings taking CSK home from a very tough position. After that, he hasn’t got a lot of opportunities with the bat. However, what’s been disappointing is his performance with the ball. He’s been quite expensive and hasn’t looked at his best as he’s had an economy of nearly 10 this season.
He did have a decent game in the first Qualifier where he took 2/25 but was expensive once again in the final. Bravo was introduced into the attack in the 8th over and conceded 11 runs in each of his first two overs. He bowled a decent 3rd over where he gave where he gave 8 runs and picked up the wicket of Shakib Al Hasan.
However, he leaked 16 runs in his final over (18th over of the innings). He gave away 46 runs in his 4 overs as he was CSK’s most expensive bowler.