Chennai Super Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad battle for IPL glory
CSK will look to achieve their third IPL title after coming back from a two-year ban.
After almost two months, we have finally reached the conclusion of the Indian Premier League season, and what a season it has been!
The stage has been set for Sunrisers Hyderabad and the Chennai Super Kings, as they get ready to battle for glory in the final of the Indian Premier League 2018.
With the in-form batsmen Ambati Rayudu, Shane Watson and MS Dhoni leading the side, CSK will look to ensure they win their third IPL trophy. SRH skipper Kane Williamson will be eager to get past the CSK, who have been the one thorn in their side this season
Chennai Super Kings
Both the teams finished in the first and second place, respectively, but with CSK winning all the three matches against SRH this year, they appear to be the favourites to lift the trophy.
CSK could not have asked for a better return after a two-year ban, as they have stormed into the final of the tournament.
Super Kings had depended a lot on their top order of Shane Watson, Suresh Raina and Ambati Rayudu in the round-robin stage of the tournament, apart from Dhoni’s finishing flourishes.
With du Plessis and Bravo too in the mix, along with Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh and Shardul Thakur with the ability to play cameos, the batting looks formidable.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Sunrisers, despite the absence of David Warner, made it to final with their daunting set of bowlers who snared a total of 79 wickets in the eleventh edition of IPL. However, they failed to overpower Chennai Super Kings in each of the three encounters this season, which includes defeat at home on April 22 and then a loss in Qualifier 1.
Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan, who came up with a sensational 3 for 19 stint last night apart from scoring a rapid-fire 34 in ten balls and then taking two catches and effecting a run-out, had troubled the Super Kings with a 2 for 11 burst in the first qualifier.
The talented leggie, looms as a huge stumbling block for the Super Kings’ strong batting line-up. He will also have back up from, notably medium pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Siddharth Kaul.
Who Will Win?
Chennai Super Kings have competed in six IPL finals in the past, losing four of them. What will give them solace, though, is the fact that they’ve had a clean sweep against Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2018 so far.
Kane Williamson’s side were on a downward slope but arrested their losing streak with an emphatic win against Kolkata Knight Riders on in Qualifier 2. Their MVP this season has undoubtedly been Rashid Khan. And the Afghan could well be the difference on Sunday.
Having said all of that, one can’t help but lean towards CSK for this one. Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s team are definitely the more balanced outfit. We’re putting our money on a third title for them.
If CSK has power-hitters like Faf du Plessis, MS Dhoni among others, then SRH is known to have one of the best bowling attacks- Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul, Rashid Khan to name a few.
The Sunrisers can take inspiration from what Mumbai Indians did last season.
MI had lost both the league encounters and their Qualifier 1 to Rising Pune Supergiant, but bounced back to clinch the title in a thriller by beating the same opponents by one run in the final.
