IPL 2018: 3 Reasons why CSK will beat SRH in the final

So, this is it, folks! After eight weeks of pulsating action that saw ebbs and flows rise to accentuating levels, we are down to two teams.

It will be two-time IPL champions, the returning Chennai Super Kings, who will take on the 2016 champions, the Sunrisers Hyderabad. While the Sunrisers ran into a rampaging Faf du Plessis (67 off 42 balls), who produced a comeback for the ages to drag his side into the finals, Rashid Khan (34 off 10 balls, 3-19 (4)) produced an all-round performance in Qualifier 02 to lead his team to the finals

So, it will be CSK taking on the Sunrisers Hyderabad, a team they have beaten thrice in the tournament thus far.

On that note, here are three reasons why CSK will beat SRH in the finals.

#3 A match-winner for every situation

It is a fact that a champion team does not depend on one or two players in order to make a successful run in a tournament like the IPL. Take the Royal Challengers Bangalore for example, the over-dependence on Kohli and AB is preposterous, perhaps one of the many reasons that explain their struggles.

And this is where the Super Kings have been outstanding. While Ambati Rayudu and Suresh Raina have been the bedrock of their batting, almost every player has stood up and played a crucial match-winning role in crunch situations. Whether it was Dwayne Bravo in the opening game against MI, Shane Watson's pulsating hundred against KKR, Sam Billings' match-winning fifty against KKR in a crunch run-chase, Lungi Ngidi's spell of 4-10 to knock KXIP out or Faf du Plessis' baptism of fire in Qualifier 01, where he played a match-winning 67 and brought CSK a sensational win, it has been an all-round effort by the Men in Yellow.

#2 World Class All-Rounders

Dwayne Bravo has been a consistent performer for CSK over the years.

While their fast bowling stocks may have lacked potency at different stages of the tournament, CSK successfully overcame that with the help of two of the best all-rounders in white ball cricket - Dwayne Bravo and Shane Watson. Bravo has been one of the perennial superstars for CSK over the years with his immaculate bowling and power-hitting down the order and although he has not been at his best with the ball recently, he has made some vital contributions with the bat, including a 68-ball-30 against MI to lead his team to an improbable win.

Shane Watson may not have had a great IPL last year, but this year, he again gave us a glimpse of his supreme talent. Watson has accumulated 438 runs in 14 matches, which includes a swashbuckling hundred (against RR), and a pristine 57 against SRH. The duo of Watson and Bravo have been pivotal to the CSK set-up this year, and are expected to play a crucial role against SRH in the finals.

#1 MS Dhoni, and his experience of playing in pressure games

Dhoni will lead CSK in their seventh IPL final

The face, and the architect-in-chief of Chennai Super Kings's success over the years, MS Dhoni will lead his side in his seventh IPL final, the most by any captain in the history of the coveted league.

While Dhoni - the batsman, has been a force to reckon with this season, having accumulated 455 runs at a strike-rate of 150.66, it is the tactical nous of the CSK captain which will prove to be a differentiator in crunch situations in the final against SRH.