IPL 2018, Final, CSK vs SRH: 5 talking points

Shane Watson's magnificent century helped Chennai Super Kings clinch their third IPL title in history with an eight-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai tonight.

Put into bat after losing the toss, SRH scored 178 in their 20 overs with Kane Williamson and Yusuf Pathan scoring 47 and 45 respectively.

Even though they started off brilliantly with the ball as well, Watson, who took as many as eleven balls to get off the mark, recovered brilliantly to blow SRH away as CSK won the match with nine balls to spare.

Here are the five major talking points from the 2018 IPL final.

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#5 Karn Sharma gamble pays off

MS Dhoni and the CSK team management took a huge call by replacing Harbhajan Singh in the playing eleven for the final with Karn Sharma, who had played only five games in the current campaign prior to tonight's big clash.

However, just like how he impressed everyone with his showing in the 2017 IPL final against Rising Pune Supergiant, where he conceded just 18 runs in his 4 overs, Karn Sharma produced another decisive performance in the title clash tonight.

The leggie went for 25 in his three overs but, got the key wicket of SRH skipper Kane Williamson at a time when the Kiwi was threatening to take the game away from CSK.

Williamson was batting on 47 and stepped down the track to look and unsettle Sharma, who was being brought back into the attack. But, the Indian leg-spinner read Williamson's mind perfectly and fired a delivery wide of the off-stump and MS Dhoni quickly took the bails to dismiss the Kiwi skipper out stumped.

#4 Yusuf Pathan comes to the party

Yusuf Pathan remained unbeaten on 45 off 25 balls

After a disappointing IPL 2017, it was not surprising to see KKR decide against retaining Yusuf Pathan for the current campaign. It was Sunrisers Hyderabad who took a gamble of sorts by spending Rs 1.9 crore on the 35-year-old, who rarely rolls his arm around with the ball nowadays.

However, the Baroda all-rounder has proven to be a good buy for SRH, playing a few crucial knocks en route the final, but saved his best for last, playing a very crucial knock for the league table-toppers in the final against CSK tonight.

Pathan walked into the crease at the fall of skipper Kane Williamson's wicket and with almost eight overs to go, it was imperative that they didn't lose any more wickets. Yet, it was important that they kept the run-rate steady and look for a god finish towards the end.

Pathan provided just that, remaining unbeaten on 45 off 25 balls, as he hit four boundaries and two sixes, and more importantly, helped take Karn Sharma out of the attack after the leg-spinner had accounted for Williamson's wicket.

Along with Carlos Brathwaite, who scored 21 off 11 balls, Pathan's knock helped SRH finish on a good total of 178 in their 20 overs.

#3 Watson's slow start cost CSK Du Plessis' wicket

The slow start by Watson meant that Du Plessis had to go after the bowling and it cost him his wicket

The SRH bowling attack has earned plaudits this IPL campaign with their consistent performances and has been the backbone of the side's highly successful tournament.

CSK has been one side though that has managed to get the better of Kane Williamson's side in all of their three previous encounters this season before the final tonight.

SRH nearly got the better off CSK in the Qualifier 1, only for Faf du Plessis to play arguably his greatest IPL knock ever to single-handedly lead into the final at Wankhede tonight.

Just like Tuesday, SRH made an excellent start with the ball tonight, cramping Shane Watson for room and gave the Australian no freebies early on. As a result, Watson went ten balls without scoring, including a maiden over to start with from Bhuvneshwar Kumar,

The required run-rate going over the 10 rpo mark, it was no doubt creating huge pressure on the CSK dugout, and as is the case more often, it was the batsman at the other end - Du Plessis - who suffered as he lost his composure and wicket, caught and bowled by Sandeep Sharma in an effort to go after the bowling.

#2 Suresh Raina's support role

Raina played a crucial knock, adding 117 runs for the second wicket with Watson

When one looks back at the 2018 IPL final some years from now, it is easy to forget Suresh Raina's role in CSK's victory tonight in the midst of the wonderful knock played by Shane Watson tonight.

Raina's knock of 32 from 24 balls, might not have been spectacular, but the circumstances in which the IPL veteran produced the innings cannot be underestimated.

Watson made a slow start which in turn led to Du Plessis' dismissal and with someone like Rashid Khan yet to come into the attack, CSK couldn't afford to lose any more wickets.

More importantly, though, they had to get the run-rate going and Raina got going right away with a couple of boundaries of Sidharth Kaul.

But, once he saw that Watson was showing signs of recovering from his slow start, Raina took a step backward and went about rotating the strike and keeping his wicket intact, while allowing the Australian to do the job of the big-hitting.

Watson was relentless in his attack, but Raina kept his composure and didn't do anything silly that would have allowed SRH a way back into the contest.

By the time Raina was dismissed for 32, their 117-run for the second wicket had all but ensured the victory for MS Dhoni's side and the CSK management as well as the fans would have appreciated Raina for his understated yet crucial knock.

#1 Shane Watson recovers from a slow start to blow SRH away

Watson started off slowly but recovered brilliantly to take the game away from SRH

Shane Watson had a very slow start to his innings tonight, failing to score off the first ten deliveries he faced, and it had an effect on the required run-rate which had crossed the 10rpo mark.

It also cost CSK Faf du Plessis' wicket, who was the match-winner for CSK against SRH in Qualifier 1 on Monday.

But, considering Watson's experience, it was vital that he didn't give away his wicket and it was a given that the Australian can always make up for the slow start with his brute power and big-hitting skills.

That's exactly what Watson did, as he slowly but surely got over his early struggles to get adjusted to the pace of the wicket and get the scoring going, with a knock that was laced with boundaries.

Running between the wickets has never been one of Watson's biggest strengths and the Australian never bothered to go that way tonight, as he hit eleven fours and as many as eight sixes in his unbeaten knock of 117 runs off 57 balls.

His big-hitting demoralized the SRH bowling line-up and not even Rashid Khan could put a stop on the Watson juggernaut. The 27-run over by Watson off Sandeep Sharma in the 13th over of the CSK innings, all but sealed the match and thereby the IPL title in their favour.