We preview the final of IPL 11 which will see the Chennai Super Kings take on the Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
The 2018 Indian Premier League culminates with a fitting finale, as the teams that finished first and second at the end of the round-robin stage meet at a neutral venue.
Hyderabad are in pursuit of a second title, while Chennai are chasing a third – and are mindful of not finishing runners-up for a telling fifth time.
CSK vs SRH | Sunday, 27 May | Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai | 15:30
To Win Match
Chennai Super Kings 72/100
Tie 35/1
Sunrisers Hyderabad 23/20
Chennai Super Kings
Having missed the 2016 and 2017 competitions due an illegal betting scandal within the franchise, the Super Kings have reasserted their dominance upon a long-awaited return. This is their seventh appearance in a final in 11 attempts, but their ability to win when it counts the most will be heavily questioned if they are runner-up for a fifth time instead of becoming three-time champions.
Chennai head into the final on the back of three victories in four matches, while Hyderabad only won once in as many fixtures. They’re relatively familiar foes, too, having clashed twice in the last two weeks. Chennai won on both occasions, riding on the individual successes of Faf du Plessis and Ambati Rayudu with the bat.
Both will be key again, as will the deployment of Harbhajan Singh. The veteran off-spinner has been under-bowled recently, effectively playing as a specialist batsman, which works as a stopgap arrangement, but can’t be justified for Sunday’s winner-takes-all showdown. The last time Chennai played in Mumbai, they used four seamers and one spinner – Ravindra Jadeja.
Lungi Ngidi is set to retain his place ahead of England all-rounder David Willey. Ngidi offers less with the bat, but his outright pace and extra lift and carry generated from the deck will truly test the Sunrisers. The South African fast bowler’s battle with opposition opener Shikhar Dhawan will be particularly intriguing.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
The Sunrisers seemed to have hit the peak of their form at the wrong time, as they headed into the knock-out stage on the back of a string of defeats. However, they did well to overcome a strong Kolkata Knight Riders fight earlier this week – and are deservedly in the final. It wouldn’t necessarily have been right for the team that finished top of the standings to not be in the final.
Focus will be on Kane Williamson – the batsman and captain. He was the only non-Indian skipper at the start of the competition and, six weeks later, is among the final two. How he’ll look to overcome opposite number Mahendra Singh Dhoni tactically will be vital. Choosing to bowl first if triumphant at the toss is one option – Chennai are reasonably untested batting first lately.
More than 100 runs ahead of his closest competitor still playing, Ambati Rayudu, Williamson should finish as this IPL season’s leading run-scorer. Siddarth Kaul and Rashid Khan, meanwhile, need three wickets each to finish level with Kings XI Punjab seamer as the top wicket-taker. Khan had a superb all-round outing against Kolkata and is tipped for another.
Elsewhere among the bowlers, the otherwise unshakable Bhuvneshwar Kumar needs to really step up in the awaiting onslaught from Rayudu, Dhoni and company. A late arrival to the first-choice playing XI, World Twenty20 Carlos Brathwaite knows what it takes to win a big tournament final – and would do well to carry a lot of the pressure for his team-mates.
Verdict: Chennai Super Kings 72/100
Despite a late loss to the bottom-of-the-log Delhi Daredevils, the Super Kings’ dominance has showed little sign of relenting – and should continue against a Hyderabad outfit that has slipped up on one too many occasions in the build-up to the final.
