IPL 2018: Qualifier 1, SRH vs CSK: 3 Masterstrokes from the game

Chennai Super Kings emerged as the winners against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai in the first Qualifier of the IPL 2018. By virtue of this win now, CSK enter into the IPL 2018 Final and will await their opponents for the final to be played on 27th May.

Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni won the toss and chose to field first. It was a clear battle between the best bowling attack which is expert at defending the scores and the best batting line-up which chased tall totals in the tournament.

The start for Sunrisers Hyderabad was a terrible one as they lost their senior batsman Shikhar Dhawan out bowled on the first ball itself. By the end of the powerplay, SRH lost three wickets including that of Kane Williamson. Yusuf Pathan and Carlos Brathwaite stitched a crucial partnership and the final score for SRH was 139/7.

The chase from Chennai also began on a false note as they lost their Australian opener Shane Watson for a duck. Siddarth Kaul took two in two to jot CSK further. The Afghan sensation Rashid Khan then ate through the Yellow Army batting to halt their march. It was the unbelievable knock from Faf du Plessis of 67(42) that took Chennai into their seventh IPL final.

Here are the masterstrokes which transformed the fortunes of the teams in tonight’s match:

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#1 SRH’s Persistence with Carlos Brathwaite

In the first thirteen matches, Carlos Brathwaite did not feature in the scheme of Sunrisers Hyderabad. The West Indian all-rounder made his first appearance in the last league match of SRH which had no effects on the points table. Citing the opening problems, SRH could have gone back to Alex Hales but they chose to stick with Brathwaite.

The decision paid off as he added the crucial runs to the total. Brathwaite scored 43* from 29 balls with a single four and four sixes. He carried Hyderabad’s score from 88/6 to 139/7, which ultimately became an excellent fighting score.

#2 Introduction of Siddarth Kaul

The first innings total of Sunrisers Hyderabad was only 139. Against the giant batting line-up of Chennai Super Kings, this was never going to be easy to defend. The first over bowled by India’s finest bowler, Bhuvneshwar Kumar knocked off Shane Watson and conceded only a single.

Next over, Suresh Raina tore into Sandeep Sharma and fetched 13 runs from the over. After Bhuvneshwar’s next over that went for six runs, Williamson had to decide whom to hand the fourth over.

He entrusted it to Siddarth Kaul, who proved his captain right. He took the wickets of Suresh Raina and Ambati Rayudu on consecutive balls and rocked the Chennai boat early.

#3 Chennai opening with Faf du Plessis

The South African captain is one of the veterans of the game and possesses the perfect knowledge of how to change the tempo according to the situation. Chennai team this year plied him as required and he featured in only four matches this season.

Tonight, Faf du Plessis was chosen to open by CSK team ahead of their leading run-scorer Ambati Rayudu. The South African stalwart fought the mighty Hyderabad bowling alone and single-handedly won the match for Chennai with his heroic knock. Despite wickets falling heaps at the other end, Du Plessis kept his composure and carried CSK into the Final with his 67* (42).

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