Shane Watson cracked a stupendous century and along with Suresh Raina whipped the Sunrisers Hyderabad attack to record an emphatic eight wicket win and help Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni lift the Indian Premier League Cup (IPL) for a third time.
Only Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma had lifted this Cup thrice before in the 11-year-old history of the IPL. Watson’s second ton of this season came after a slow start and he went on to remain unbeaten on 117 runs off 57 balls with 11 boundaries and eight sixes. Partnering Raina, Watson put on 117 runs off 9.3 overs for the second wicket.
Chennai are Super Kings. A fairytale comeback as @ChennaiIPL beat #SRH by 8 wickets to seal their third #VIVOIPL Trophy ???. This is their moment to cherish, a moment to savour. pic.twitter.com/ABMnOGiEkg
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 27, 2018
Raina scored 32 off 24 balls with three boundaries and a six.
Earlier, Sunrisers, put in to bat, posted 178 for 6 riding on their skipper Kane Williamson’s 47 off 36 balls with five boundaries and two sixes and Yusuf Pathan’s unbeaten 45 off 25 balls with four boundaries and two sixes.
Chasing the total, Chennai got off to a slow start with Watson taking 11 balls to pick his first run. The pressure set by Watson resulted in his partner Faf Du Plessis going for a big shot but landed up being caught bowled by Sandeep Sharma for 10.
In the first five overs, Chennai could get only 20 runs. Watson started off by hitting Sharma for a six in the sixth over. He also hit Siddarth Kaul for a six over square leg. Raina who joined Watson too began to stroke fluently.
Watson and Raina punished Kaul for 17 runs in one over and took 16 runs in another over from him. The played Hyderabad’s strike bowler and second qualifier hero Rashid Khan cautiously.
In the last ten overs, Chennai Super Kings needed 99 runs and Watson raced to his half century in 33 balls. Though Raina fell in the 14th over caught behind off Carlos Brathwaite, Watson and Ambati Rayudi steered Chennai safely to the target with nine balls to spare.
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