Chennai Super Kings have comprehensively beaten Sunrisers Hyderabad by 8 wickets at the iconic Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai to clinch the third title. It was an absolute visual treat for the CSK fans worldwide. It was a kind of match that batsmen outclassed the bowlers at the best scene. CSK was banned from playing cricket for 2 seasons (IPL 9 &10) and now that they have announced their arrival in style by becoming the IPL Champions.
After 7 long years, they lift the trophy in a sensational manner. The WhistlePodu army never ceased to amaze us with blistering sixes, flashy boundaries, some nail-biting moments. CSK have a great experience of playing 7 finals and they made sure to tick in all the checkboxes when going for the third cup which came at the right time to satisfy the CSK fans. Sunrisers lost all the four matches that they played against CSK.
Winning the toss, CSK invited SRH to bat first. Though the Sunrisers’ top-order batsmen struggled to get going against CSK’s all-round bowling attack, Kane Williamson and Yusuf Pathan slowly paced their innings with caution and gumption as they both chipped in with vital 47 and 45 respectively.
Yusuf Pathan’s knock was surreal as he managed to knock it in 25 balls and remained not out at the other end. After captain’s departure, Carlos Brathwaite came out to bat, scored at a strike rate of over 190 as he essayed 3 blistering sixes to add little strength to the scorecards as SRH posted 178/6 in their full quota of overs.
Chasing 179 is not that easy especially against the best bowling attack in the finals. CSK had other plans to counter SRH bowling attack. Bhuvneshwar Kumar started off with a maiden ball by pitching the balls at good line and length. Shane Watson struggled to middle the deliveries well and the pundits started telling that he is playing a Test knock.
Faf du Plessis’ early departure gave some warning for the CSK. As the balls progressed, Shane Watson upped his ante and started punching the balls with brute force. Suresh Raina, on the other hand, read the situation well as he gave the strike back to Watson who was at the helm of scoring slick flow of runs.
After Raina got out a well-made 32, Watson kept on firing all ends up and the Sunrisers bowlers couldn’t stop him. Watto brought up his century in style as he ended up scoring an unbeaten 57-ball-117 with a flurry of 11 fours and 8 towering sixes, he played the best knock in CSK jersey. On the other hand, Ambati Rayudu, who is CSK’s most successful run-scorer finished the match with a flashy boundary to wrap things up.
