IPL 2018, Finals: 4 reasons why Sunrisers Hyderabad lost the finals

The final of IPL 2018 was a contest between the 2 best sides of the tournament. The Sunrisers Hyderabad took on the Chennai Super Kings at the Wankhede stadium, hoping to stop Chennai’s winning run.

M.S Dhoni won the toss and elected to field first. The Sunrisers got off to a slow start and could only score 42 runs from the powerplay. However, their middle order provided the much-needed momentum to their innings. The likes of Yusuf Pathan, Shakib-al-Hasan and Carlos Brathwaite played handy cameos to power their team to a competitive score of 178 runs.

In reply, Chennai got off to a slow start as Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled an excellent spell at the top. However, it was all uphill for the Sunrisers from there on as Shane Watson played a fantabulous knock of 117 runs to power Chennai home with 9 balls to spare. Let us have a look at the 4 reasons why Hyderabad lost the contest.

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#1 Seamers disappoint on the big day

The seam duo of Sandeep Sharma and Siddharth Kaul are an important part of the Sunrisers’s bowling line up. While Sandeep has not had the best of the seasons this year, his teammate Kaul has been impressive.

When it mattered the most, both of them could not execute their skills and were taken to the cleaners by Shane Watson. Kaul came into the attack in the 7th over. He strayed too far down the leg side and went for a massive 16 runs. In his next over as well, he was smashed for 16 runs.

Sandeep Sharma was brought on to provide a breakthrough in the 13th over but Shane Watson had some other plans as he was smacked for 27 runs of that over. The duo gave away a whopping 95 runs from their combined 7 overs.

#2 Sluggish start at the top

Hyderabad has been dependent on their top order to get the runs in this season. Shikhar Dhawan and Kane Williamson have scored the bulk of the runs for the Sunrisers.

Although Williamson played a handy knock of 47 runs today, his partner in crime, Shikhar Dhawan played too many dot balls and could only muster 26 runs from the 25 balls that he faced.

Only 42 runs came from the powerplay overs as Deepak Chahar and Lungi Ngidi did not give away loose balls and stifled Hyderabad’s innings. This sedate start hampered Hyderabad’s chances of putting big runs on the board.

#3 Watson’s superlative knock

Shane Watson has been around for a long time now. He is one of the few cricketers who has been a part of the IPL since its first season in 2008. Watson started off slowly today, playing out Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s opening spell cautiously.

Once he saw that opening burst through, Watson opened up his arms and played one of the greatest knocks in IPL’s history. Watson looked at ease against the spinners as well as the seamers.

He smashed 8 sixes and 11 fours during his innings. His innings of 117 runs proved to be the difference between the two sides.

#4 Ineffective spinners

It is no secret that Hyderabad depends on Rashid Khan to provide the crucial breakthroughs in the middle overs. In the last game as well, it was only due to his magical spell that Hyderabad was able to defend a modest total against Kolkata.

He usually gets good support from the other end from Shakib-al-Hasan. However, the spin duo of Rashid and Shakib had an off day at the office today as Rashid went wicket-less from his full quota of overs while Shakib was smashed for 15 runs from the solitary over that he bowled.

Both Watson and Raina played Rashid cautiously and did not give away their wicket to him. It was a major reason why Hyderabad lost the contest.