During the first Qualifier of the 11th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) between Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at Mumbai, Chennai Super Kings beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 2 wickets in a cliffhanger.
After Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and put Sunrisers Hyderabad in to bat, they scored 139-7 in their allotted quota of 20 overs. Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja and Lungi Ngidi in combination bowled 12 economical overs which sucked out of Hyderabad’s innings. For the batting team, posting a decent total was possible due to Brathwaite’s onslaught in the slog overs.
In the second innings, Chennai Super Kings got off to a faltering start as they were reduced to 24-3 in the fourth over. Wicket kept falling at regular intervals, which obviously did not help their case. When the required run rate jumps 10 even in a 140-run chase, you can imagine the quality of the bowling attack.
However, the Sunrisers’ bowlers couldn’t get past one man, someone who had played a limited number of match in this season. When Dhoni sent in Faf du Plessis to open the innings, many of us were of a different opinion. It was du Plessis’ experience which Dhoni was counting upon and eventually benefited in this nerve-wrenching match.
The turning point of the match was the 18th over of the second innings. On the back of du Plessis’ anchoring innings, Chennai had brought the equation down to needing 43 runs in three overs to win the match. With the ball in Brathwaite’s hands, du Plessis might have thought of going against a bowler who hadn’t bowled much in the tournament.
The 33-year old South African captain scored three fours and a six in that over as the Super Kings accumulated 20 runs. It was in this over that du Plessis completed his ninth IPL half-century, perhaps the most valued one. The equation was reduced to 23 runs in two overs, which was pretty much achievable.
After scoring the winning six on the first ball of the last over, du Plessis proved his captain’s decision to back him in the affirmative. Adjourned as the ‘Man of the Match’, he ended up scoring 67* (42) with the help of five fours an four sixes. Having secured a victory, Chennai Super Kings have entered their seventh IPL final, an unmatched record.
