Watson special help CSK to win the 3rd IPL title

Chennai Super Kings made a fairy-tale comeback to win their 3rd IPL title after they beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 8 wickets at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Sunday (May 27). It proved to be a one-sided affair in the end as CSK comfortably won the match with 9 balls to the spare in reply of 179. Thanks to Shane Watson's second hundred in this IPL.

As it happened



In this final, it was Chennai Super Kings who won the toss and opted to field first. Sunrisers Hyderabad lost Shreevats Goswami early. After that Shikhar Dhawan and Kane Williamson took charge and put on a 51-run stand off 40 balls before Ravindra Jadeja bowled out Dhawan. He scored 26 off 25 balls. However, Kane Williamson was going strong and scored 47 off 36 balls. After the wicket of Williamson, Yusuf Pathan took responsibility on his own shoulder and scored a quick-fire 45* off 25 balls. He added 34 runs with Carlos Brathwaite (21 off 11) and lifted SRH to 178 after 20 overs. It was good to defend in final.

In reply of 179, it was one man show. Despite losing Faf du Plessis(10) on 16, CSK never looks in any sort of trouble. Shane Watson and Suresh Raina took the game completely away from SRH by putting a match-winning partnership of 117 off 57 balls. However, Raina could only contribute 32 off 24 balls. Later, Watson and Ambati Rayudu added 48 runs together for the 3rd wicket and help CSK to win their 3rd IPL title in seven attempts. In this process, Watson scored his 4th IPL century (2nd of this season).

Williamson continued his purple patch



Going into this match, skipper Kane Williamson had a huge responsibility on his shoulders. Not only as a captain but as a batsman. However, he didn't disappoint with his performance. After the first wicket, he ensured that SRH reaches to a good total. Firstly, he put on a solid partnership with Dhawan and later, he added quick 37 off 22 balls with Shakib Al Hasan. Before he got out, SRH had already reached to 101 in 12 overs.

Shakib Al Hasan 23 off 15, Yusuf Pathan's quickfire 45* off 25 balls and Carlos Brathwaite's cameo of 21 off 10 balls ensured that SRH put on a good total of 178 to defend.

Shane Watson's one-man show dismiss SRH's challenge



At the halfway stage, 178 was looking very good to defend especially after the bowling SRH had. But once the chase began, SRH looked ordinary against Shane Watson. However, he took his time to get set and scored his first run after 10 balls. But once he got set, he took SRH's bowlers all around the park. His assault came hard on Sandeep Sharma who conceded 52 runs in his 4 overs including a 27-run over. Watson was very careful against Rashid Khan and Bhuvneshawar Kumar. His partnership with Raina ensured that CSK didn't score much in last overs.

After losing Raina, SRH might sense a comeback but Rayudu didn't allow them to bounce back in this game. He made only 16* off 19 balls but put on match-winning partnership off 48* with Watson. Watson remained unbeaten on 117 off 57 balls including 11 fours and 8 sixes and awarded Man Of The Match

An ordinary night for SRH bowlers

It was one of those days when SRH's bowlers failed to make an impact. Their premier bowlers, however, didn't concede too many runs but going wicketless didn't help SRH cause. Sandeep Sharma had a forgettable match as he gave away 52 runs in his 4 overs and picked 1 wicket. Siddarth Kaul also had a bad night as he conceded 43 runs in just 3 overs.

For more updates and news, stay tuned to us.

Thanks for reading.