Wrapping up

Phew! It has finally come to an end, hasn’t it? Chennai Super Kings, mocked as Chennai Senior Kings after they picked a plenty of 30-plus players in the auction, weren’t the outright favourites for the title this season. But they wanted to get their core group back, especially their leader, Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Their bowling, especially at the death, was an area of concern. So was their spinning options. But was CSK easily the best all-round batting side of the tournament. They had Watson and Rayudu and Raina firing consistently. And, most importantly, the season saw the rejuvenation of Dhoni, the finisher. All these factors helped them win the title this season. But also spare a thought for Kane Williamson, who stepping in for David Warner, did a superb job as a captain. Sunrisers’ middle order was a little weak. But Williamson, aided by his bowling attack, especially the superb Rashid Khan, had a six-match winning streak that took them to the play-offs. After losing to CSK in Qualifier 1, SRH beat KKR in the Qualifier 2, to make the final. But that Watson innings took the game away from them.

So, hope you guys had fun with our IPL coverage. Thanks and good night!

MS Dhoni: The finals, by the time you reach, everyone knows their roles. When you’re fielding, you have to adjust your plans, but other than that, our batsmen know their style. And if someone is finding it difficult, you know the incoming batsman won’t have it easy as well.

You have to keep in mind that Bhuvi is as deceptive as Rashid, so it’s not only one bowler in their side that could’ve put pressure on us. So, I feel it’s a really good batting effort. But we always had the belief that we had the firepower in the middle overs. There was no plan to send Bravo up ahead. Rayudu has been our main batters, so we had protection in the middle.

Every win is special, so difficult to pick any one win.

We talked a lot about age, but what’s more important is the fitness. Rayudu, at 33, it doesn’t really matter. That’s what more matters than age. If you ask most captains, they want players who move well on the field. Doesn’t matter if you’re 19-20 years old. We knew our shortcomings, and we were aware of it. If Watson tries to dive, he may injure his hamstring, so we don’t want him to do that. We’ve been aware of these things.

Stephen Fleming: Each year is different. The franchise bought well, and from there we could keep a core set of skills. Other teams chopped and changed, but we stuck along. Experience got some stick after the auction, but we preferred that style. Our formula was ‘experience’ this year. We looked at age, but also at professionalism, and people like Watson are great at that. Our fielding levels do drop, but we take that into consideration.

Kane Williamson picks up the runners-up cheque: We thought it’ll be a competitive total, but the pitch did hold a bit. We saw that in our first five-six overs, and for the large part of the game we were doing okay. But hats off to Shane Watson. You do have to congratulate CSK. It’s frustrating, because we played some really good cricket for the large part. Wasn’t to be, and they certainly showed their experience. The boys are hurting at the moment, but we’ve fought hard. A shame not to come across the line, but a lot of positives.

Orange cap goes to Kane Williamson. Purple cap goes to Andrew Tye.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni gets the award for innovative thinking.

Pant also bags the award for the stylish player of the season.

Sunil Narine gets the award for the season’s best strik-rate. He ma

Catch of the season: That Trent Boult stunner at the deep to dismiss Kohli.

Emerging player of the season: Rishabh Pant. He says he wasn’t trying to hit a lot of sixes this season [What?!] He ends with 37 sixes (the most in this season).

Ground of the season: PCA, Mohali.

Watson, full of smiles: It’s just been a special season. To get an opportunity after my previous year with RCB, was incredible. Things fell my way nicely tonight, but to be able to do it in such a big game... it’s very special. After those first ten balls, I was hoping to catch up. Wanted to get run-a-ball before getting out. Bhuvi was excellent so we had to see the first six overs without any damage. Once the ball stopped swinging, it got easier. The good thing is I don’t have to play for a few months, so have some time to recover.

Man of the match goes to, who else but Shane Watson for his 57-ball 117!

Also, Karn Sharma’s been part of the team that won the IPL trophy in the last three seasons. He was part of SRH in 2016, part of MI in 2017, and now CSK in 2018.

Bravo, who’s been an integral part of CSK, says: Good experience, but it’s a special moment. For most of the guys, it’s their first time. We played just one game in Chennai, so a lot was going wrong. But we kept focus, and nothing’s better than winning titles. Experience is better than youth, and we’ve shown that. Experience comes across in moments like this. Watson’s a world-class player!

SHANE WATSON HAS GOT CHENNAI SUPER KINGS THEIR THIRD IPL TITLE! It’s all over. Rayudu hits the winning runs. But it’s been a Watson special that helped CSK win the title on their comeback year.

After 16 overs, CSK 166/2 (Watson 108, Rayudu 11): Twelve runs off that Rashid Khan over – he’s done with his spell. Nothing can stop CSK now, not even Rashid Khan. CSK need just 13 off 18. But Watson might finish it in the next 6 balls.

HUNDRED FOR WATSON! This has been a treat to watch, Watto. Comes in 51 balls. And, to think Watson didn’t score for the first 10 balls he faced!

After 16 overs, CSK 145/2 (Watson 98, Rayudu 9): Rayudu gets into the party too. Smashes Bhuvneshwar over long off. No pressure. The Super Kings are looking to finish this one early. They need 25 off 24 with one more Rashid over left.

ALERT! Shane Watson just took a single!

After 15 overs, CSK 146/2 (Watson 97, Rayudu 2): Balls have been flying out of the park. Shane Watson created a hurricane. Chennai Super Kings were on a rampage, scoring 15, 9, 27, 14 in the last four overs. And, Kane Williamson throws the ball to Rashid Khan. And Rashid just gives just one – just one – away. What a bowler!

After 14 overs, CSK 145/2 (Watson 97, Rayudu 1): Shane Watson’s playing perhaps the greatest IPL final knock of all time and making this a no-contest. Bludgeons Brathwaite for a four and a six and brings down the equation to 34 off 36. Chennai, from this situation, are the clear favourites.

WICKET! Some respite for the Sunrisers after that rampage by Watson. Good short ball by Brathwaite. Raina attempts a pull but the ball brushes the top of his glove and goes to the keeper. CSK: 133/2 in 13.3 overs

After 13 overs, CSK 131/1 (Watson 86, Raina 31): Shane Watson’s taking this match (or has he taken it already?) away from the Sunrisers Hyderabad with some amazing hits. Poor bowling by Sandeep. 27 runs off it.

12.2 FOUR Low full toss outside off, Watson whacks it over extra cover.

12.3 SIX Short one, outside off, Watson plays a half-pull and the ball soars over the long on ropes and falls in the stands.

12.4 SIX Missed yorker and Watson clears his front leg and smashes this past cow corner.

12.5 SIX Length ball, Watson says thank you and bludgeons it past long on.

12.6 FOUR Fullish ball, outside off again, Watson gets it between gully and point.

Is this going to be the key over of this match?

After 12 overs, CSK 104/1 (Watson 60, Raina 31): Watson and Raina are building a solid partnership. Fine batting in the middle overs by these two. Score nine off that Brathwaite over. Also, looks like Watson’s in a bit of pain (Remember: he had a niggle before the game). Will be a huge blow for CSK if he goes away now.

Fifty from Watson off 33 balls! Cometh the hour, cometh Watson. A fine innings in this high intensity final.

After 10 overs, CSK 80/1 (Watson 45, Raina 22): So, Super Kings survive another over of Rashid. No casualties. And, eight runs scored off it too. Well done. At the half way mark, they need 99 off 60.

After 9 overs, CSK 72/1 (Watson 43, Raina 16): Kaul’s not having a great night. And, Shane Watson is the reason. Hits another six – this time over long on. Went very high in the air. Then, slaps him one bounce to the covers. He’s on 43 and looks good for more.

After 8 overs: CSK: 56/1, SRH: 62/1

After 8 overs, CSK 56/1 (Watson 28, Raina 15): Rashid Khan into the attack for the first time this match. Of course, Raina and Watson know better than to go after him when he’s in the form of his life with the ball. Just five runs scored in that over.

After 7 overs, CSK 51/1 (Watson 26, Raina 13): Expensive start by Sid Kaul. 16 off that over. Shane Watson, after facing eight consecutive dots at the start, have moved to 26 off 21. Raina scored two boundaries in that over as well.

After 6 overs, CSK 35/1 (Watson 19, Raina 4): Shane Watson gets going. Swings his bat to put away a harmless straight, medium-pace delivery of Sandeep over midwicket ropes and then follows it with a four. Suresh Raina dirties his jersey, while trying to save his wicket during a quick single.

After 5 overs, CSK 20/1 (Watson 7, Raina 2): Gamble by Williamson to let Bhuvneshwar bowl another over. Doesn’t fetch Sunrisers any wickets. But just four off it. Should Williamson have held Bhuvi back for the death overs? Hmm...

WICKET! The hero of Qualifier 1 has been dismissed. Faf doesn’t pick Sandeep’s knuckle ball. Steps down and attempts a lofted drive but the ball goes up in the air and the bowler catches it himself. CSK: 16/1 in 4 overs.

After 3 overs, CSK 10/0 (Watson 0, Faf 10): Dream start by Bhuvneshwar in this final. 11 dots out of the 12 deliveries he’s bowled so far. These two overs might be a big factor in this match. But CSK get five runs off a Deepak Hooda overthrow.

After 2 overs, CSK 5/0 (Watson 0, Faf 5): Watson’s yet to get off the mark after facing 8 deliveries. Good, tight bowling by Bhuvneshwar and Sandeep so far. Faf and Watson haven’t gotten any free-scoring deliveries.

Hint of swing for Bhuvneshwar and Sandeep early on...

After 1 over, CSK 0/0 (Watson 0, Faf 0): Maiden by Bhuvneshwar to start the chase. Great bowling. The first and the last deliveries are what swing bowlers practice for hours to get it right.

What a ball to start things off. Bhuvneshwar pitches it outside off, perfect length, beats the bat. Such class. CSK: 0/0 in 0.1 overs.

Welcome back, fellas. Watson and Faf are at the centre to begin the pursuit of 179 and the 2018 IPL title. Bhuvneshwar with the new ball...

Innings break: Who’s the happier side? Join us soon for the run-chase. Praveen Sudevan will be on blog duties. This is Vinayakk signing off for now.

END OF SUNRISERS’ INNINGS - 178/6 after 20 overs

Thakur with a dodgy start to the final over, a full toss to Pathan but he can get only two. Brathwaite then misses a couple of heaves, but a perfectly good short ball by Thakur is properly mishit by the West Indian, and it still ends up clearing long on! Thakur gets his wicket off the last ball.

CSK will be happy not conceding 180-plus. SRH will be happy to have this on board in the final.

After 19 overs, SRH 168/5

Young man, Lungi Ngidi. Take a bow! To bowl a 8-run 19th over in the first big final of your career is phenomenal and to think the last ball was hit for a six. It was a fantastic over until then, still ends up being a good over all things said and done. Brathwaite, struggling to connect through the over, gets a six off the last ball, just about clearing Faf at long on.

Alright, last over. Thakur. This could make or break the game.

After 18 overs, SRH 160/5 - MASSIVE OVER FOR SRH!

Bravo, who’s slower ball has come for severe punishment in this IPL and it’s the same again. Pathan slaps a forehand down the ground, all bottom-hand, for four. Long on had no chance. Earlier in the over, a massive straight six by Brathwaite.

Bravo’s done bowling another expensive spell in this season. 46 off four overs. Yusuf’s come to the party at the right time. He’s 41 off 21.

After 17 overs, SRH 144/5

Interesting over! 10 runs and the wicket of Hooda off the last ball and that Ngidi smile is back. He bowls a completely decent over but still ends up conceding 10 thanks to a screamer of a six by Yusuf Pathan, who’s striking close to 200.0 right now. A short of length ball slapped past long on for six.

Now Pathan and Brathwaite out in the middle... take cover in the stands!

After 16 overs, SRH 134/4 - Shakib gone!

Bravo gets a wicket to his name and it’s another crucial breakthrough. It looked like Shakib had absolutely creamed this full toss past cover for four but Raina takes a sharp catch at the edge of the circle. That travelled super fast!

Another decent over for SRH though, started off with a four by Yusuf, punched through cover.

After 15 overs, SRH 126/3

Karn Sharma on for his 3rd and concedes 9 - two good overs for SRH on the trot despite losing Williamson’s wicket. Pathan once again at it, a booming cover drive that goes all the way for a SIX! Brilliant shot, it looked like he was beaten by the width and turn there, but it just kept going and going.

After 14 overs, SRH 117/3

Thakur not having a great day with the ball again, so expect him to finish off the match with the bat perhaps. Nine runs from that over, with a powerful cut shot past point for four by Pathan. We had remarked this partnership as one of the crucial areas for SRH if they are to win tonight, let’s see how they go.

After 13 overs, SRH 108/3 - KANE GONE!

KARN SHARMA removes Kane Willamson! What a moment in the match. Karn Sharma comes on, flights the ball up but it is wide, very wide, and turns away. Williamson has pre-meditated, coming down the track. Dhoni makes no mistake.

Quite likely, the reason Dhoni wanted Sharma in the side tonight. This is a wonderful, wonderful tactical battle so far between two great sides so far.

After 12 overs, SRH 101/2

Brilliant batting by Williamson, puts away Bravo for consecutive boundaries - a gorgeous off drive followed by a pull shot in the gap. He’s three short of another half century. SRH targetting bowlers here. Shakib taking on Jadeja, Williamson taking on Bravo like he did a few overs back. Crucial phase of the match this.

After 11 overs, SRH 90/2

Shakib on the move! There is a reason Dhoni usually doesn’t go to his left-arm spinner when a left-handed is at the crease. The move worked against Dhawan but not against Shakib, who smashes a six and a four through the midwicket region. The good ol’ slog sweep. A missed chance of sorts early in the over, as Williamson tries to go big over cover, the edge falls short of Ngidi at short third.

After 10 overs, SRH 73/2

Despite an expensive third over, Chahar finishes with great figures of 4-0-25-0. What an IPL he has had! Just 3 runs from that over. Williamson is getting just a little tied down here.

After 9 overs, SRH 70/2

Jadeja targets Dhawan in one his strong areas but also an area where he loses his wicket often - the sweeping length. The angle is what did Dhawan in, with Jadeja going wide of the crease and firing it on from over the wicket. Shakib comes on and gets a boundary to his name with a cut through third man region.

Onus on this pair now...

After 8.3 overs, 64/2 - DHAWAN GONE!

Well, well. Jadeja comes on to bowl, despite Dhawan being at the crease, who loves to sweep with the spin but that’s the shot that ends his innings! Stump-to-stump and Dhawan misses the slog, bowled for 26 off 25 balls.

Don’t usually see that from Dhoni but he sense some control over the proceedings now. Jadeja had a great game on Tuesday, and he is off to a great start here again.

07:45 pm: Williamson and Dhawan are at it once again. CSK need to regroup.

After 8 overs, SRH 62/1 - TIMEOUT

Bravo into the attack early once again. Good start to the over with three dot balls to Dhawan - slower ball, followed by a yorker and a brilliant bouncer. But Williamson makes it a good over for SRH, with a four over extra cover and a six over fine leg to finish it off. Went on his knees and swept that brilliantly, seeing fine leg is inside the circle.

After 7 overs, SRH 51/1

Karn Sharma, unlike Harbhajan in the previous over, will bowl after all. Nine from his first over, as Dhawan is starting to get into his groove. A well-timed sweep shot for four. Will be interesting to see if gets another over, here.

After 6 overs, SRH 42/1

A good end to the powerplay for SRH that CSK otherwise controlled. 25 runs from the last overs! Shardul comes on to bowl, concedes 12 after a massive six over long on. In the slot, and he swings hard.

Who’ll be the happier side?

STAT ALERT: A fantastic season for Kane Williamson!

After 5 overs, CSK 30/1 - 13 runs

Williamson makes up for that maiden over with a six and four off Chahar’s over. Wasn’t in control of the pull shot when he hit the six, a top-edge carries all the way over the fine leg fence though. A classy pull shot to follow that up, all along the ground.

STAT ALERT: Maybe this is why Dhoni played Karn Sharma today... ;)

After 4 overs, SRH 17/1 - MAIDEN OVER!

Wow. A maiden over in the powerplay of a big final. Williamson plays out six dot balls off Ngidi. Nothing fancy from the South African, just steady good length bowling on the off-stump channel. There was one short and wide, but missed by Williamson and there was one full, driveable but hit straight to the fielder at cover.

Terrific start for CSK

After 3 overs, SRH 17/1

Another tight over from Chahar. How good has he been in the powerplay for CSK this year? Just three runs from it, as Chahar keeps it very stump-to-stump, good control over the movement he is getting.

07:13 pm: Opening troubles for SRH vs CSK continues:

Match 20: Sunrisers lost the first wicket with 0 on board
Match 46: Sunrisers lost the first wicket with 18 on board
Qualifier 1: Sunrisers lost the fist wicket with 0 on board
Final: Sunrisers lose the first wicket with 13 on board

After 2 overs over, SRH 14/1 - FIRST WICKET!

Nerves again! This time it’s Goswami, who succumbs to the pressure. Taps it past square leg and calls for two – a poor, poor call. Karn Sharma gets around to the ball quickly and sends in a good throw, Goswami well short.

The first boundary of the evening goes to Dhawan as he tucks Ngidi to the fine leg fence for four earlier in the over. And now it’s the most crucial pair out in the middle for SRH - Wiliamson and Dhawan.

After 1 over SRH 6/0

A polar opposite beginning to the match compared to the Qualifier 1 on Tuesday! Dhawan bowled that day, but Chahar bowls a full toss to Goswami first up. And it’s a no ball and a free hit. Nerves, of the big match. Even the best get affected by it. Just ask Zaheer Khan. No great damage done though, as Dhawan can hit the free-hit only straight to the fielder at long on. Steady start by Chahar.

07:00 pm: Alright here we go... Dhawan and Goswami out in the middle. Deepak Chahar with the ball. Not a first ball wicket again, surely?

06:57 pm: The team batting first has won 7 of the previous 10 IPL Finals. Scoreboard pressure is a big factor. Will Dhoni regret bowling first? Let’s see. Time for the National Anthem.

06:55 pm: Only three batsmen (Chris Gayle - 733, Michael Hussey - 733 and Virat Kohli - 973) have managed to score more than 700 runs in an IPL season. Williamson’s at 688. Can he go past 700 tonight?

06:50 pm: Remember 2011 World Cup final?

06:45 pm:

CSK XI: Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni(c), Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar, Karn Sharma, Shardul Thakur, Lungi Ngidi

SRH XI: Shikhar Dhawan, Shreevats Goswami, Kane Williamson(c), Shakib al Hasan, Deepak Hooda, Yusuf Pathan, Carlos Brathwaite, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddharth Kaul, Sandeep Sharma

06:35 pm: Well, we were wrong about CSK possibly being unchanged tonight! Dhoni, who didn’t use Harbhajan at all in the previous match against SRH, has dropped the veteran in favour of the under-used Karn Sharma. Karn had a big role to play in the final last year for MI, perhaps that’s why? We were right about predicting the SRH changes, though. Saha (injured) and Khaleel miss out, Sandeep and Goswami come back in.

06:30 pm: MS Dhoni has won the toss, CSK will be bowling first.

“You called heads,” says Sanjay Manjrekar to MS Dhoni
“No, he called tails”
“Yes, you called heads”
“No, he called tails!”

Dhoni messing around with Manjrekar at the toss!

06:25 pm: Are we going to see changes to the playing XI tonight? Something tells us CSK won’t be tinkering too much. SRH on the other hand might be forced to make one change for sure, as Saha looked to be in some discomfort at Eden Gardens after injuring his finger. Don’t be surprised if Goswami comes back in. The third pacer slot could see a change as well as they almost paid for a massive punt in playing Khaleel Ahmed in the semi-final for the first time this year.

06:20 pm: 10 minutes away from the toss...

One would be very surprised if the fact that RPS lost the final last year to Mumbai after winning thrice earlier in the season isn’t part of Sunrisers’ team talk ahead of the final. At the highest level in sport, most big games are won or lost in the heads of the players, and the mental makeup of men in orange will need to look for positives entering the game. Another aspect that should cheer the Hyderabad side up is the fact that CSK – the most consistent team in the league, playing their seventh final – have lost five times at the final hurdle.

06:10 pm: Chennai Super Kings have defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad thrice in the lead-up to the final, but can Kane Williamson’s men overcome that streak? Rohit Sharma’s Mumbai Indians did just that last year against RPS. One year later, things couldn’t be more different in the Indian Premier League and yet have an uncanny undercurrent of similarity.

Here’s what SRH need to get right to ensure they end up on the winning side tonight.

06:00 pm: At the Eden Gardens on Friday, Rashid was here, Rashid was there, and Rashid was everywhere as the Afghanistan superstar (that’s what he is now!) single-handedly took SRH into the final. Read Praveen Sudevan’s piece on his all-round show against KKR.

05:55 pm: MS Dhoni will be playing his 8th IPL final; he led CSK in 6 previous finals and was part of the Rising Pune Supergiant team that finished runner-up in 2017. He needs 7 more runs to make this IPL 2018 his most successful IPL season ever; he has so far scored 455 runs in 15 innings this season.

Can he cap off an already memorable season with a fairytale finish?

05:50 pm: Head-to-head

Overall: Matches – 9, Chennai Super Kings won – 7, Sunrisers Hyderabad won – 2

In 2018: Matches – 3, Chennai Super Kings won – 3, Sunrisers Hyderabad won – 0.

05:40 pm: Speaking ahead of the final, MS Dhoni was at his witty best. “The age group of the boys was definitely a concern (before IPL),” he admitted.

Dhoni: 36 Rayudu: 32 Raina: 31 Bravo: 34 Watson: 37 Harbhajan: 37

But in the end, experience has counted.

He also explained why Harbhajan didn’t bowl in the Qualifier 1, like only he can:

“I have a lot of cars and bikes in my house. I don’t ride all at a time. A lot of times, especially when you have six to seven bowlers in the side, you want to see the conditions, you want to see who is batting and what is needed at that point of time. I see what is in best interest of the team.

“In the past, we had Negi and Jadeja, and I gave them different slots of bowling. And the unreal thing is that a lot of times the player gets criticised at times for what the batsman is doing.

“”I always check what is the condition and what is in the best interest of the team then before deciding on the bowler as to who has the best chance to succeed over the bowler.

“Like in the last game I didn’t feel it was necessary for him (Harbhajan) to bowl. But for Bhajji, he is really experienced when it comes to any format of the game.”

05:35 pm: CSK have a 6-6 win-loss record in IPL matches at the Wankhede Stadium. The corresponding number for SRH is 1-4. Who is it going to be tonight?

05:30 pm: Hello all and welcome to our live blog of the IPL 2018 Final! It’s the big day today. After weeks and weeks of battling out in the league stages, and surviving the knockout stages, the cream has come out on top. The best two sides of the league-phase – well, the best two sides of this year – have made it to the final. It’s Chennai Super Kings vs Sunrisers Hyderabad.