Picture Credit : BCCI
South Africa Test skipper Faf Du Plessis produced a brilliant unbeaten knock of 67 off 42 balls for the Chennai Super Kings snatched victory from jaws of defeat to reach the IPL 2018 final on hot humid conditions at Wankhede, Mumbai. At one stage CSK chasing the Sunrisers total of 139 / 7 in 20 overs were tottering at 92/ 7 .
But Du Plessis and a timely 15 off 5 ball by Shardul Thakur helped CSK clinch the match with five balls to spare . Faf fittingly finished the match in style with a six. It was a stunning innings from Faf as he kept his nerves and stayed till the end to guide his team home. He was not rattled by the wickets falling around him.
SRH gave CSK a tough time in the chase, with pacer Siddharth Kaul (2/32) dismissing Suresh Raina (22) and Ambati Rayudu in successive deliveries to force Chennai onto the back foot in the 4th over. Rashid Khan (2/11) deceived Dhoni (9) beauty and then dismissed Dwayne Bravo for 7 to stun Chennai.
Earlier, CSK pacer Deepak Chahar gave Chennai the perfect start, dismissing Shikhar Dhawan for a first ball duck.
Hyderabad Captain Kane Williamson, hit four crisp boundaries in his 24, but the Sunrisers kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Yusuf Pathan contributed 24, but it was West Indian Carlos Brathwaite’s 43 not out from 29 balls that helped Hyderabad post 139/7. The total in the end was not enough.
SRH though have another chance to reach final as they take on the winner of the other qualifier between Kolkata Knight Riders and the Rajasthan Royals in the eliminator.
The two time Champions CSK have now another chance to lift their third IPL title on 27th May.
