On Tuesday night, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) reached the final of IPL 2018 after dramatically beating Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by 2 wickets (with 5 balls to spare) at Wankhede Stadium (Mumbai) in the Qualifier 1. After that game, CSK head coach clarified why Sam Billings missed out that game and Faf earned a spot.

The English cricketer Sam Billings started this IPL season superbly by playing a match-winning knock of 56 runs off just 23 balls against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Chennai. But since then, he massively failed and only once more he played a double-digit knock (27 runs against Rajasthan Royals at Jaipur).

Also read: (SRH vs CSK) – Turning Point of the Match

After the last night game, Fleming revealed that out-of-form Faf du Plessis got a chance in the game due to Billings’ unavailability in this game. Fleming said that Billings was feeling uncomfortable prior to the game and that’s why Faf earned a spot in the team who played a remarkable match-winning knock.

Speaking on Billings’ unavailability, Fleming quoted after the match, “Sam has struggled a little bit, but he was still a part of our options. He then got hurt in the last game. He fell awkwardly on his hip, which has been quite bruised. He could have played with a push but he was uncomfortable so we took that opportunity to keep Faf in the side. He played the last game. It does change the set-up, with [Ambati] Rayudu going back to No. 4 but that’s not a bad thing either.”

Also watch: DJ Bravo Gives A Groovy Tribute To MS Dhoni

Chasing down the 140-run target, CSK suffered a huge batting collapse as they were on 62/6. When it seemed that their all hope was over, opener Faf du Plessis showcased a remarkable batting on the tough pitch. He played a responsible and patience knock to secure a remarkable victory for his team.

The right-handed batsman was not out at the end on 67 runs off 42 balls (5 fours and 4 sixes) and that proved a match-winning knock at the end.