LIVE: Indian Premier League 2018, Final, CSK vs SRH

Shane Watson plays the knock of the IPL 2018, staying unbeaten on 117 as CSK chase down 179. They join Mumbai Indians as the only team to have won the IPL three times! Let's take a moment to appreciate SRH for their amazing season. They have well exceptionally well led by Kane Williamson, and Rashid Khan has been one of the stars of the tournament.

Over 19:

A dot ball to start. Another follows. FOUR! CSK WIN THE IPL 2018! CSK 181/2

Brathwaite to bowl 

Over 18:

Three balls, three singles as CSK walk their way towards the victory. But Watson has different thoughts, as he smacks the fourth ball of the over for a four. Six more runs needed. Another four! Just two more runs needed. And the last ball, much to the fans disappointment, is a dot. CSK 177/2

Siddharth Kaul in the attack

Over 17:

First ball, and Watson takes a single to move on to 99. Rayudu does the same. Back to you Watson! CENTURY FOR WATSON! What an innings under pressure. He takes a single, and then takes a bow in front of the fans. Four balls, four singles. That's how you play Rashid! And now, he plays a deft shot to score a four. Third IPL for CSK incoming! Last ball of the over, and another four. CSK need 13 in 3 overs, CSK 166/2

Rashid to complete his quota of overs

Over 16:

Starts off with a dot. It's 1 of 8 balls for Rayudu. Make it 1 of 9, as he struggles to get going. SIX! Finally he gets a proper connection, and hits a good length delivery over the ropes. 27 needed of 27. After another dot, Rayudu takes a single and hands over the strike to Watson for the final delivery of the over. And Watson takes a single, and moves to 98. CSK 154/2 

Bhuvneshwar to bowl his final over

Over 15:

And Rashid doesn't disappoint again. Despite most of the other bowlers going for runs, he has held up one hand. Just one run from the over! CSK 146/2 

Rashid comes back as CSK close in on victory

Over 14:

Another great over for CSK, despite the wicket of Raina. The CSK batsman was caught off a bouncer in the third ball. But in the final ball of the over, Watson hit another six. 14 runs from the over. CSK 145/2

Brathwaite continues with match running away from SRH

Over 13:

He starts off with a brilliant yorker. Four of the second ball, as Watson hits a low full toss through the covers. SIX! Picked the slower ball, and dispatches it for a maximum over long-on. Another low full toss, another SIX! Three in a row from Watson. SRH fans and players are down to their feet now. THREE SIXES IN A ROW! Wide now, as Sandeep's bowling is all over the place. Four to finish off the over. 27 runs from the over. CSK 131/1 

Sandeep Sharma comes to bowl his fourth and final over

Over 12:

Good start from Brathwaite, conceding just three runs from the first three balls. But the fourth ball is dispatched for four by Watson. A single to finish off the over. CSK 104/1 

Carlos Brathwaite called to bowl by Williamson

Over 11:

He is greeted to the crease by Watson with a six. Good comeback from Shakib, as he concedes just three runs in the following four deliveries. But the final ball goes for a SIX! Raina just stands and delivers a brilliant shot through long-on over the boundary. 15 runs from the over. CSK 95/1 

Shakib Al Hasan into the attack

Over 10:

Rashid is showing why he is being considered as the best leg-spinner in this format. Just four runs from five deliveries. But the final ball is tucked away behind the keeper for a four by Raina. Still, only 8 runs from the over. CSK 80/1 

Rashid continues hoping for a wicket

Over 9:

A better start from Kaul, as his first two deliveries go for only two runs. SIX! It was high, high up in the air, but cleared the boundary easily. Watson is getting in his groove. Next ball is a full toss, which Watson fails to connect properly. Rashid makes a good effort, but the ball falls just short of him. Batsman get two runs. A slower one next up, and Watson hits it over mid-off for four. Two more runs to finish off another great over for CSK. CSK 72/1  

Kaul to continue, hoping to improve from his first over

Over 8:

As expected, CSK don't get much runs from Rashid's over. His fast leg-spin and googly have been played intelligently by the two batsmen early on. Just 5 runs from the over. CSK 56/1

RASHID KHAN into the attack!

Over 7:

A single off the first delivery. SIX! Watson is back in form, and how. A ball on the leg side by Kaul, and he dispatches it over the boundary. The very next delivery, he mistimes, but survives and gets a single. Now Raina, joins in the party, scoring a four towards the fine leg. After a dot, Raina gets another four. CSK get 16 runs from the over! CSK 51/1 

Siddharth Kaul in the attack for the first time

Over 6:

Finally Watson connects with a delivery, but Rashid in the deep fields it well. Raina rotates the strike in the second delivery. SIX! Finally he gets a shot away, and its a huge six. And he follows it up with a four. Watto is back! Good game sense, as he takes a single off the next delivery. The last ball is again a single. 15 runs from the over. CSK 35/1

And Sandeep follows Bhuvneshwar, comes for his third

Over 5:

Another sensational over from Bhuvneshwar. Only four runs from it as Raina and Watson see him out instead of going for the attack. CSK 20/1 

Bhuvneshwar to bowl his 3rd over

Over 4:

After 10 consecutive dot balls, Watson hits a brilliant straight drive for a four. And Sandeep responds back with a good delivery. OUT! The final ball of the over produces a wicket for SRH. Sandeep bowls a slower ball, which is badly miscued by du Plessis. The bowler calls it mine, and takes it comfortably. Du Plessis departs for 10. CSK 16/1 

Sandeep continues hoping to keep the pressure on CSK

Over 3:

Eight consecutive dot balls from Bhuvneshwar now. CSK has no answer to his line and length. Make it nine now! And it's 10 dots in a row. Finally a single, or wait, no, its 5 runs. Hooda attempts to run-out Watson, and he throws the ball at the batting end. There is no one to back it up, and the ball rolls over to the boundary. Another dot follows. CSK 10/0 

Bhuvneshwar to continue

Over 2:

Another dot ball to start off. But du Plessis gets his team off the mark with a cracking four. After the boundary, just one runs come from the four subsequent deliveries. CSK struggling here. CSK 5/0

Sandeep Sharma to bowl from the other end

Over 1:

It's a maiden over to start off. Bhuvneshwar gives Watson no room to play with, and the opener fails to open its account. CSK 0/0

Bhuvneshwar to bowl the first over

We are back on!

So, SRH end up with 178/6 on board, thanks to good knocks from Kane Williamson and Yusuf Patha. Cameos from Shakib Al Hasan and Carlos Brathwaite also helped the 2016 champions. CSK need 179 to win. Chase in 15 mins time!

Over 20:

Pathan misses out on a full toss, but the batsmen scamper for a double off the first ball. A wide follows it up. A slower one off the second ball foxes Pathan. The third ball goes for a single. Another slower ball, and Brathwaite fails to pick it. Four balls, four runs. SIX! That's sheer brute power from Brathwaite, as he pulls a ball over the long on for a six. OUT! Brathwaite caught on the final ball. He depart for 21. SRH 178/6

Thakur to bowl the final over

Over 19:

WHAT AN OVER! A dot and a single to start off. He then follows up with a brilliant slower ball, which Pathan could only guide for another single. The following deliveries to Brathwaite are real gem, as the West Indies batsman fails to connect. But the final ball goes for a six, as Brathwaite finally gets bat to the ball for once. Still, just 8 from it. SRH 168/5

Ngidi to bowl the penultimate over

Over 18:

He starts off with a wide, followed by a single and another wide. With three runs from one legal delivery, the pressure was on Bravo to deliver. But Brathwaite had a different idea, hitting a huge six off his first delivery. And Pathan ended the over with a four. A sensational 16-run over for SRH. SRH 160/5

Bravo to finish off his spell

Over 17:

A mixed over for CSK. The first three balls went for three runs. But Pathan then showed his power, and hit a six through long-on. But in the final delivery, Hooda was caught in the deep attempting a big shot. He departs for 3. SRH 144/5

Ngidi comes back into the attack

Over 16: 

He is welcomed back into the attack by Pathan with a four. The following three deliveries go for three runs. The fifth delivery is a low full toss by Bravo, but Shakib failed to capitalize, and is caught at the covers by Raina. He departs for 23. Deepak Hooda makes his way into the crease, and gets off the mark with a single. SRH 134/4

Bravo to bowl the 16th over

Over 15:

The first ball is bowled away from the batsman, with Pathan leaving it hoping for wide. But the umpire calls it a fair delivery. Irritated by the call, Pathan plonks the next delivery into the stands. The following four deliveries deliver three runs. SRH 126/3  

Karn Sharma to bowl his third

Over 14:

Decent over from Thakur, conceding nine runs from it. Barring a powerful cut shot by Pathan, which went for four, only singles came from the other deliveries. SRH 117/3 

Thakur brought in to keep a check on SRH's scoring

Over 13:

What a first ball from the spinner. Tossed it up outside off, Williamson comes down the crease aiming to heave it over the covers. But the ball spins, and SRH skipper is left stranded. Dhoni has an easy stumping to complete. He departs for 47. Pathan comes in next. And he get off the mark with his second delivery, guiding the ball through the third man for a boundary. Three runs came off the final three deliveries. SRH 108/3 

Karn replaces Jadeja

Over 12:

Another bad over for CSK. After the first delivery went for a dot, Bravo concedes back to back boundaries to Williamson. The following three deliveries saw singles coming from them. SRH 101/2  

Bravo back into the attack

Over 11:

A sensational over for SRH, with 17 runs coming from it. After the first two balls see only two runs, skipper Williamson looks to go big. A miscued shot went for a four through third man. Then Shakib took it upon himself, hitting a six and a four through the midwicket of the final two deliveries. SRH 90/2

Jadeja to keep on going

Over 10:

A very good spell from Chahar comes to an end. The pacer used his change of pace and fast delivery to great use, conceding just three runs from the over. At the midway mark, SRH are 73/2. SRH 73/2

Chahar to bowl out

Over 9:

Brilliant over from Jadeja, as he removes the dangerous Dhawan. The opener tried to play a sweep, but missed it and departs to the pavilion. He departs for 26. Shakib Al Hasan comes up next, and gets a four of his first ball. SRH 70/2  

Ravindra Jadeja introduced into the attack for the first time

Over 8:

Bravo started off with his favorite slower ball, and then followed it up with a brilliant yorker. He then deceived Dhawan by bowling a good bouncer. Three dots from three balls. The fourth delivery was another off-cutter, which could only be played for a single. Williamson faced Bravo for the first time this innings, and scored a four through the covers. The final ball was a full toss, and the SRH skipper dispatched it for a maximum. SRH 62/1

DJ Bravo into the attack. Look out for the slower ball

Over 7:

Another promising over for SRH. Having dealt with singles in the first three balls, Dhawan decided to take charge, and scored a four of the fifth delivery. Karn's first over goes for 9 runs. SRH 51/1

Spin into the attack, in the form of Karn Sharma

Over 6:

Not a good first over from Thakur. He conceded just two runs in his first two balls, but went for a maximum in the third delivery. Shikhar Dhawan played a sublime shot to get his first six. Two runs came in the final two balls. A total 12 runs from the over. SRH 42/1

Shardul Thakur into the action

Over 5:

Good over for SRH! After a dot ball first up, Williamson tried to up the ante, and went for a pull. Despite miscuing it, the ball went over the boundary for a six. He followed it up with a four two balls later. The following two deliveries only costed one more run for CSK. SRH 30/1

Chahar to keep continuing

Over 4:

MAIDEN! Ngidi his hitting the right line and length. Just like Chahar, he is giving no space for the batsmen to play with. He conceded no run in the over. SRH 17/1 

Ngidi continues to keep SRH quiet

Over 3:

Brilliant bowling from Chahar, with just three runs coming from the over. With SRH's two best batsmen on the crease, he keeps a very good line and length, not allowing any room for either to play a stroke. SRH 17/1

Chahar to continue for his second over

Over 2:

Another good over for CSK! Dhawan got a boundary off the second ball through the fine leg, despite a valiant effort by Karn Sharma. OUT! But in the penultimate delivery, Goswami played a ball on the leg side, and went for a double. The second run was never on, and he was run-out by a mile. He departs for 5. Kane Williamson comes in. SRH 14/1

Lungi Ngidi to come from the other end

Over 1: 

A good start from Chahar, conceding just six runs. The over started with a no ball first up as Chahar started off with a beamer. Dhawan couldn't make much use of it though, only getting a single. The following deliveries were played with caution by both the batsmen. SRH 6/0

Deepak Chahar to start off for CSK!

Teams are out in the middle! Shikhar Dhawan and Sreevats Goswami to open the batting!

Here are the starting XI for the both the teams:

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

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

CSK win the toss, chose to field!

The toss is less than 10 minutes away! 

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LIVE BLOG: Indian Premier League 2018, Final, CSK vs SRH

The extravaganza of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018 is set to come to its conclusion. Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad will fight it out in the final of a season which has been extremely competitive.

Both the teams are worthy finalists, given they were the top two sides after the group stage round. SRH finished on top with 18 points. CSK also had 18 points, but lost out the top spot due to a worse net run-rate.

But MS Dhoni and co. should be very confident going into the big game, given they have won all three times these two teams have met in the IPL 2018. This includes the nail-biting two-wicket win in the Qualifier 1.

SRH on the other hand, ended their four-match losing streak, winning the do-or-die Qualifier 2 against Kolkata Knight Riders. Their bowling attack is the meanest in the whole of IPL, and the performance against KKR would have brought back a lot of confidence.

CSK arguably have the longest batting power in their side. Their openers Ambati Rayudu and Shane Watson have been scoring the bulk of runs throughout the campaign. But there has been enough support from Suresh Raina, skipper Dhoni and Faf du Plessis, the hero against SRH in Qualifier 1.

Even their bowling has been tough to play against. The spinners, Harbhajan Singh and Ravindra Jadeja make sure to not leak runs. And the pace attack of Lungi Ngidi, Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar have been providing them wickets.

Their opponents' batting hasn't really clicked, barring skipper Williamson and Shikhar Dhawan. Both of them have played exceptionally well, but have received very little support from the other batters.

Bowling has been the strong point of SRH since 2016, and it has only gotten better in 2018. Rashid has been at his very best, and has gotten good support from Shakib Al Hasan in the spin department. As for the pacers, both Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Siddharth Kaul are high amongst the wicket-takers in the league.

The contest is set to be determined by which team can stand up for the occasion, and deliver on the big finale.