CSK storm into IPL 2018 final as du Plessis stunner beats SRH in qualifier

Faf du Plessis scored well composed 67 and took Chennai Super Kings beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by two wickets. CSK reach finals while SRH will now play Qualifier 2

Chasing 140 in the Qualifier 1 of the VIVO Indian Premier League (IPL 2018), Chennai Super Kings won the match by 2 wickets and sealed their berth in the finals, thanks to the wonderful batting by Faf du Plessis and a cameo by Shardul Thakur. CSK will now play in the finals on May 27. SRH will face the winner of the match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals. Kaul came to bowl the 17th over and just gave 4 runs. CSK needed 43 from 18. Brathwaite came to bowl the 18th over and Faf hit him for a four and six. He completed his 50 as well. Harbhajan was run out on the bowler's end for 2 from 9 runs. Shardul Thakur was the new man in. Faf hit Brathwaite for 20 runs and took the equation to 23 from 12 balls. Kaul came to bowl the 19th over and Thakur edged one for four and then one more. 6 were needed from 6 when Bhuvneshwar came to bowl the final over. First ball six to Bhuvneshwar and CSK won by 2 wickets.

Earlier, were off to a bad start as Shane Watson was caught clueless by an outswinger by Bhuvneshwar Kumar and was out for a duck. Suresh Raina was the new man on the crease and scored one run off the very first ball. Sandeep Sharma came to bowl the second over and Raina hit him for three consecutive fours. He leaked 13 runs in the over. Kumar came to bowl the third over. He kept it tight for the du Plessis and Raina. Rashid continued and just gave two runs in the 10th over. Shakib Al Hasan came to bowl and gave just six runs from the over. Rashid came to bowl his third over and scalped Bravo, who was caught at slip by Dhawan. He went for 7. Ravindra Jadeja came to the crease. After 12 overs, CSK were at 61-5. Carlos Brathwaite was introduced in the attack. Runs did not come easily against his bowling as just three runs came from it. Rashid Khan came to the attack and scalped Mahendra Singh Dhoni. He misread the ball and his stumps were rattled. Dhoni scored 9 runs from 18 balls. Dwayne Bravo came to the crease. After 8 overs CSK were at 40 for the loss of 4 wickets. Carlos came to the attack, and du Plessis was hit for a six. CSK were at 48-4 in 9 overs.

IPL 2018 QUALIFIER 1 CSK vs SRH SCOREBOARD

Chennai Super Kings innings update: Over by Over

Chennai Super Kings playing XI for today's match: Ambati Rayudu, Shane Watson, Suresh Raina, Faf du Plessis, MS Dhoni(w/c), Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Harbhajan Singh, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Lungi Ngidi.

Over 1: Bhuvneshwar Kumar to Shane Watson, play and miss for no run. Inswinger, inside edge, loud appeal, DOT ball. Another DOT ball. DOT ball. Peach of a delivery, outswinger got the outside edge, Watson OUT. Raina took a single off the last ball of the over. CSK: 1/1, Shane Watson c Goswami b Kumar 0 (5b 0x4 0x6)

Over 2: Sandeep Sharma to Suresh Raina, cut the ball for four. Cover drive in the air went for four. 3rd ball driven straight down the ground to bring third FOUR of the over. Raina left the 4th ball to keeper, no run. DOT ball. Raina took a single to keep the strike. CSK: 14/1, Suresh Raina: 14 (7b), F du Plessis 0(0b)

Over 3: Bhuvneshwar Kumar to Suresh Raina, two runs taken. A single taken by Raina off the 2nd ball. du Plessis played a defensive shot for no run. Another defensive shot went for no run. Outside edge went to the third man, single taken. Down the leg side WIDE called. Raina played a defensive shot for a single. CSK: 20/1, Suresh Raina: 18 (10b), F du Plessis 1(3b)

Over 4: Siddharth Kaul to Suresh Raina, no run. Raina used the pace as he punched the ball for four. Raina BOWLED as he missed the ball down the leg side. Ambati Rayudu OUT for a golden duck. Hatrick ball negotiated by Dhoni, no run. DOT ball to end the over. CSK: 24/3, Suresh Raina b Kaul 22 (13b 4x4 0x6), Ambati Rayudu b Kaul 0 (1b 0x4 0x6)

Over 5: Bhuvneshwar Kumar to Faf du Plessis, quick single taken. Dhoni played a defensive shot for no run. DOT ball. Another DOT ball. DOT ball. Well left by Dhoni to end the over. CSK: 25/3, MS Dhoni: 0 (7b), F du Plessis: 2(4b)

Over 6: Siddharth Kaul to Faf du Plessis, flicked in the leg side region for a single. Dhoni left the 2nd ball to the keeper, no run. Inside edge down to fine leg region for two runs. Bouncer pulled away for a four. Another pull shot played by Dhoni for a single. DOT ball to end the over. CSK: 33/3, MS Dhoni: 7 (11b), F du Plessis: 3 (6b)

Over 7: Carlos Braithwaite to MS Dhoni, down the legside, WIDE called. Another ball onto the pads flicked for one run. Superman effort by Manish Pandey to save a single. Faf du Plessis took a single off the 3rd ball. DOT ball. Leg bye taken to end the over. CSK: 36/3, MS Dhoni: 8 (15b), Faf du Plessis: 4 (8b)

Over 8: Rashid Khan to Dhoni, no run. Dhoni took a single off the 2nd ball. Dhoni OUT, deceived by a googly. DOT ball. Bravo took a single to end the over. CSK: 40/4, MS Dhoni b Rashid Khan 9 (18b 1x4 0x6)

Over 9: Carlos Braithwaite to Dwayne Bravo, dabbed to third-man for a single. du Plessis played a defensive shot for no run. DOT ball. Short ball, to edge went for six over the fine leg fielder. A single taken by du Plessis. DOT ball to end the over. CSK: 48/4, F du Plessis: 12(13b), DJ Bravo: 2 (4b)

Over 10: Rashid Khan to Faf du Plessis, outside edge went to point for no run. DOT ball. Thin edge, not collected by keeper, DOT ball. One run taken by du Plessis. DOT ball. Another inside edge one run taken. CSK:50/4, Faf du Plessis: 13(17b), DJ Bravo: 3 (6b)

Over 11: Shakib Al Hasan to Bravo, a quick double taken. DOT ball. Bravo punched the 3rd ball for a single down to long-on. Faf du Plessis punched the 4th ball to long off for a run. Another single taken. du Plessis took a single to end the over. CSK: 56/4, Faf du Plessis: 15(19b), DJ Bravo: 7 (10b)

Over 12: Rashid Khan to Faf du Plessis, one run taken. Bravo OUT, outside edge taken by Dhawan in the slip. Ravindra Jadeja dabs the 3rd ball in the leg side for two runs. A single taken by Jadeja. Another single taken by du Plessis. Inside edge onto the pads for no run. CSK: 61/5, DJ Bravo c Dhawan b Rashid Khan 7 (11b 0x4 0x6)

Over 13: Sandeep Sharma to Faf du Plessis, one run taken. DOT ball. Jadeja OUT, knuckleball hit straight to the bowler. Deepak Chahar took a single off the 4th ball. Two runs taken by du Plessis. A single taken to end the over. CSK: 66/6, Faf du Plessis: 21(24b), Deepak Chahar: 1(1b)

Over 14: Shakib Al Hasan to du Plessis, one run taken. Deepak Chahar took a single. Another single taken by du Plessis. Chahar took a single. Faf du Plessis hit a four followed by a six to end the over. CSK: 80/6, Faf du Plessis: 33(28b), Deepak Chahar: 3(3b)

Over 15: Sandeep Sharma to Deepak Chahar, smashed for a six. Chahar punched the 2nd ball one run. DOT ball. du Plessis smashed the 4th ball for four. One run taken by du Plessis. Chahar OUT, super catch by Braithwaite in the long-on region. CSK: 92/7, Deepak Chahar c Brathwaite b Sandeep Sharma 10 (6b 0x4 1x6)

Over 16: Rashid Khan to Faf du Plessis, missed by batsmen hit the pad, Umpire decision OUT, overturned by DRS, du Plessis survives, punched the next ball for a single. Inside edge down to short fine leg, no run. Rashid didn't give any run in remaining 3 deliveries to finish his spell. CSK: 93/7, Faf du Plessis: 39(33b), Harbhajan Singh: 0 (4b)

Over 17: Siddharth Kaul to Faf du Plessis, one run taken. DOT ball, one leg bye taken. Another single taken by du Plessis. Yorker, DOT ball. another single taken to end the over. CSK: 97/7, Faf du Plessis: 41(35b), Harbhajan Singh: 1(8b)

Over 18: Carlos Braithwaite to Harbhajan Singh, one run taken. du Plessis hit inside out over the extra fielder for a four followed by a six mid-wicket region. CSK back in the game, Slower ball went for four. A brilliant all-round exhibition of cricket, classic cover drive, superbly fielded by Rashid Khan resulted a runout Bhajji OUT. Faf du Plessis hit the last ball for four to bring the equation down to 23 runs in 12 balls. CSK: 117/8

Over 19: Siddharth Kaul to Shardul Thakur, outside edge went for four, inside edge went for four. Shardul Thakur hit the 3rd ball straight to long-off for a single. WIDE. du Plessis took a single off the 4th ball. Two runs taken by Shardul Thakur. Hit the ball straight down the ground for four. CSK: 134/8

Over 20: Bhuvneshwar Kumar to Faf du Plessis, missed the yorker overpitch delivery went for six. CSK win the match by 2 wickets.

Chennai Super Kings players celebrate thier victroy against Sunrisers Hyderabad during the 1st Qualifer IPL 2018 match played in Mumbai

Chennai Super Kings innings analysis after 20 overs

Shane Watson and Faf Du Plessis opened the innings for CSK while Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled the first over. Kumar was off to a good start and was swinging the ball both ways. SRH needed early wickets to give themselves a chance to win the match. Four dot balls and Kumar had set the stage for what came on the 5th delivery. Another quick out-swinger and Watson got an edge on it and the wicket-keeper did no mistakes. CSK had lost their first wicket and Suresh Raina came in on number 3. Sandeep Sharma started the second over with a loose delivery outside-off and Raina smacked him away for a four. But Raina didn't just stop at that and followed it with consecutive boundaries and put Sharma under pressure. Sharma went for 13 runs in his over, including 3 fours and a single. Kumar continued with his second over. Both the batsmen played it safe and just 6 runs came off this over. CSK were 20/1 after 3 overs.

Siddarth Kaul was introduced into the attack and took an important wicket dismissing Raina who was looking good. Raina went across, leaving his leg stump exposed and Siddarth Kaul hit the spot just right. The man in form Ambati Rayudu was the next man in but didn't spend too much time on the crease as Kaul clean bowled him. Rayudu departed for a duck paving way M S Dhoni to come into bat next. Kaul finished a successful over conceding just 4 runs and taking 2 crucial wickets. The momentum had shifted a little bit and Williamson looked to continue the attack with Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the 5th over. Dhoni played 5 dot balls and Kumar gave just 1 run in his over. Kaul continued from the other end. Dhoni was looking to slow down the game after the fall of quick wickets. It took him 9 balls to go off the mark but followed it with a boundary towards deep fine leg region. The game had become even as CSK stood at 33/3 after 6 overs.

Brathwaite was introduced into the attack and bowled a tight over as the batsmen were avoiding any risky shots. 3 runs came off this over. Rashid Khan was brought into the attack for the first time in the match. The move paid-off and Rashid dismissed Dhoni who completely misread the ball that was coming inside after hitting the pitch. Dhoni also got a fine inside edge on the ball that stormed right into the wickets. Dwayne Bravo was the new man in. Brathwaite continued and bowled the 9th over. SRH were well into the game as its bowlers were bowling as per expectations. CSK was under pressure and Du Plessis was grappling with his own game. He just managed to hit a six which just went past the fielder in the deep fine leg region. CSK stood at 48/4 after 9 overs. 

Rashid Khan bowled the 10th over and wasn't providing too many choices for the batsmen to go for big runs. The asking rate had gone way past 8 rpo and the two batsmen on the crease had the responsibility to take CSK to the other end of the finishing line. Williamson brought another spinner into the attack. Shakib came in to bowl the 11th over. Runs were only coming in singles and the required rate climbed to 9.3 rpo. Rashid Khan came in with his third over. Bowled a short delivery and Bravo fell victim to a soft dismissal and handed a simple catch to Dhawan at slip while attempting a cut shot. Ravindra Jadeja was the new man on the crease. Khan was turning the ball well and continued his domination. CSK were struggling at 61/5 after 12 overs.

Sandeep Sharma was brought back to get done with the remaining overs of his quota after an expensive first over. But he surprised Jadeja with a knuckleball, which resulted in the fourth caught and bowled of the match. Jadeja had to depart. Deepak Chahar was the next man on the crease. Du Plessis had been on the crease since the beginning of the innings but never seemed to get going. Shakib came in to bowl the 14th over. Singles continued and a boundary came on the penultimate ball, courtesy of a misfield. But Du Plessis went after the last ball and hit the ball for six straight down the ground. Du Plessis had a lot riding on his shoulders as CSk stood at 80/6 after 14 overs needing 60 runs in the last 6 overs. 
 

Sandeep Sharma started the 15th over and Chahar welcomed him with a six towards on-side. Sandeep answered with a yorker on the next ball. Du Plessis looked to up the ante and smashed Sharma for a classic boundary towards covers. Chahar had to depart while trying to go for some big runs. Harbhajan Singh was the new man in and Rashid started the last over out of his quota of 4. Du Plessis just survived a dismissal, thanks to the DRS.  However, the batsmen continued to struggle and Khan conceded just 1 run his over. CSK were 93/7 after 16 overs.

Siddarth Kaul was back into the attack with his third over. The required run rate was over 12 rpo. CSK was in desperate need of boundaries but the batsmen weren't able to find the gaps. Only 4 runs came in this over. CSK needed 43 runs off the last 18 balls. Braithwaite was brought into the attack for the 18th over. Singh was finding it difficult to time the ball and took a single off the first ball. Du Plessis knew that he had to fire to get closer to the target and he got the rhythm just in time and hit Brathwaite for consecutive boundaries. Harbhajan was dismissed later in the over and Shardul Thakur made his way on the crease. Du Plessis ended the over with a square-cut boundary. Brathwaite finished an expensive over conceding 20 runs off it. CSK was back into the game and needed 23 off the last 12 balls. Siddarth Kaul came in to bowl the 19th over. Thakur got an outside edge and the ball went for a boundary towards third man. Another inside edge and CSK had one more boundary in their kitty. Shardul Thakur did more than what he was expected to do and hit one more boundary straight down the ground. CSK now needed just 6 runs in the last over. Bhuvneshwar Kumar came into bowl the final over and Du Plessis did not take too long to finish the job and sealed the match with a straight six on the very first ball. Du Plessis rose up to the occasion in a crucial match and took CSK through to the final with significant help from Shardul Thakur's wonderful cameo of 15 runs off just 5 balls. SRH who were in the driving seat for the first 17 overs of the game lost the match in the last three.

Sunrisers Hyderabad players celebrate the wicket of Chennai Super Kings batsman Deepak Chahar during the 1st IPL qualifier match played in Mumbai. Photo: PTI

Sunrisers Hyderabad innings Update: Over by over

Sunrisers Hyderabad playing XI for today's match: Shikhar Dhawan, Shreevats Goswami(w), Kane Williamson(c), Manish Pandey, Shakib Al Hasan, Yusuf Pathan, Carlos Brathwaite, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul, Sandeep Sharma

Over 1: Shukhar Dhawan and Shreevats Goswami to open for SRH. Deepkar Chahar to start it for CSK. What an inswinger by Chahar, Dhawan is clean bowled. Golden duck. Kane Williamson comes to the crease. Well defended. Dot ball to Kane. Brilliant cover drive for four by Williamson. Chahar bowls one on the leg stump, he glances it for four. Once again, glanced behind the wicket for four. SRH: 12-1

Over 2: Lungi Ngidi comes to the attack, Goswami drives for a single. This one cut through Williamson. Single. No slip, Goswami gets a four. SRH: 18-1

Over 3: Chahar continues, one run to Chahar. Quick single for Goswami. Beautifully cut for four as width was offered and he played it well. Glanced. Dhoni misses the run-out. What an easy chance missed. 

Over 4: Ngidi continues, Goswami plays an amazing cover drive for four. Dot balls. Played a little too early and a simple catch to Ngidi. SRH: 34-2

Over 5: Shardul Thakur comes to the attack. Williamson glanced it for a double. Williamson pulls, gets his glove and Dhoni takes a simple catch. Willamson is gone. Shakib Al Hasan comes to the crease. Four, powerful shot by Shakib. Single to Hasan. SRH: 41-3

Over 6: Chahar continues, Dot ball. Brilliantly pulled by Shakib for four. Dead ball. Single to end the over. SRH: 47-6

Over 7: DJ Bravo to Manish Pandey, no run. Manish Pandey took a single off the 2nd ball. Shakib Al Hasan took 2 runs off the 3rd ball. Shakid OUT another unlucky dismissal for SRH. Ball down the leg side got the glub, Dhoni completes the catch. Bouncer. Pathan took a single to end the over. SRH: 51/4

Over 8: Ravindra Jadeja to Yusuf Pathan, DOT ball. Pathan took a single off the 2nd ball. Manish Pandey punched the 3rd ball for a single. Another single taken by Pathan. DOT ball. Another DOT ball to end the over. SRH: 54/4

Over 9: DJ Bravo to Yusuf Pathan, bouncer, ducked by Pathan. WIDE, down the leg side. DOT ball. Pathan took 2 runs off the 3rd ball. Pathan gets on top of the short ball punched it to sweeper cover for 2 runs. A single taken by Pathan. Pandey took a single to keep the strike. SRH: 61/4

Over 10: Ravindra Jadeja to Manish Pandey, no run. One run taken by Pandey.DOT ball. Pathan took a single off the 4th ball. another single taken by Manish Pandey. DOT ball to end the over. SRH: 64/4

Over 11: Deepak Chahar to Manish Pandey, low full toss hit straight to short mid wicket fielder, no run. Pandey punched the 2nd ball for a single. DOT ball. WIDE. Another DOT ball. SRH: 67/4

Over 12: Ravindra Jadeja to Manish Pandey, single taken. Pathan took a single off the 2nd ball. Manish Pandey OUT, leading edge straight to Jadeja. Braithwaite played a defensive shot, no run. Another DOT ball. DOT ball to end the over. SRH: 69/5

Over 13: Shardul Thakur to Yusuf Pathan, one run taken. DOT ball. Braithwaite dabs the 3rd ball in legside for a single. DOT ball. DOT ball. Pathan flicked the last ball off the over for four in mid-wicket region. SRH: 75/5

Over 14: Ravindra Jadeja to Braithwaite, no run. A single taken by Braithwaite. Jadeja bowled 3 DOT ball before Pathan cut the last ball for four. SRH: 80/5

Over 15: Dwayne Bravo to Carlos Braithwaite, down the legside brushed the pad, no run. Down the leg side, WIDE. Braithwaite flicked the 2nd ball for a single. Another single taken by Pathan. Yorker squeezed for a single. Pathan cut the 5th ball for four. OUT, Mindblowing catch by Bravo to remove Pathan. SRH: 88/6, Yusuf Pathan c & b Bravo 24 (29b 3x4 0x6)

Over 16: Lungi Ngidi to Carlos Braithwaite, one run taken. DOT ball. Bhuvneswar Kumar took a single off the 3rd ball. DOT ball, Two singles to end the over. SRH: 92/6

Over 17: Dwayne Bravo to Bhuvneswar Kumar, WIDE. Another WIDE. A single taken by the Bhuvi. Braithwaite took a single off the 2nd ball. DOT ball. Another DOT ball. Bhuvi took a single. Brathwaite took a single to keep the strike. SRH: 98/6

Over 18: Shardul Thakur to Brathwaite, dispatched for a six. Brathwaite smashed the 2nd ball for another six. DOT ball. Single taken by Braithwaite. Bhuvi played an aggressive shot for a single. WIDE. Braithwaite took 2 runs to end the over. SRH: 115/6

Over 19: Lungi to Bhuvneswar Kumar, miss hit down to long-on for a single. Braithwaite missed the scoop shot for no run, glides the next ball to the third-man region for a single. A swing and a miss by Bhuvi, no run. A single taken by Bhuvi. Another single taken by Braithwaite to keep the strike. SRH: 119/6

Over 20: Shardul Thakur to Braithwaite, smashed declines the single. A big swing and a miss, WIDE given. Braithwaite tried to paddle sweep 2nd ball failed, two runs taken. Low full toss, dispatched into the crowd. Braithwaite walloped the 4th ball for a four in the extra cover region for four. WIDE. Braithwaite hit the ball straight down the ground for six. Short ball missed, Bhuvi runout while trying to steal a bye. SRH: 139/7

Chennai Super Kings Dwayne Bravo celebrates the dismissal of Sunrisers Hyderabad's Yusuf Pathan during the 1st IPL 2018 qualifier cricket match, in Mumbai. Photo: PTI

Sunrisers Hyderabad innings analysis after 20 overs

Chennai Super Kings won the toss and asked Sunrisers Hyderabad to bat first. Shikhar Dhawan and Sreevats Goswami opened the innings for SRH while Deepak Chahar bowled the first and got the big fish Dhawan of the first ball, a golden duck for Shikhar Dhawan. Kane Williamson replaced Dhawan and continuing his form played some classic shots as he ended the over with 3 consecutive fours settling the nerves in the dressing after the loss of the first wicket. Lungi Ngidi came to bowl the 2nd over and bowled with a brilliant line as he conceded only 6 runs. Kane Williamson played some exquisite shot before Dhoni missed a runout chance of Sreevats Goswami as Deepak conceded 10 runs in his second. After 3 SRH were 28/1

Lungi Ngidi bowled the 4th over and got the wicket of Goswami who looked rusty in most of the occasion. Ngidi conceded 6 runs in his 2nd over, Manish Pandey came to the crease after the wicket of Sreevats Goswami ( 12 runs 9b 2x4 0x6). Shardul Thakur came to bowl the 5th over and got the big wicket of Kane Williamson. As it usually happens a batsman in great form usually get out of the bad ball and the same happened with Kane Williamson, a ball down the leg side got a thin edge as he tried to pull it. Shakib Al Hasan replaced Williamson in the middle and hit the first ball the faced for four. Chahar bowled the 6th over and conceded 6 runs. After 6 SRH were 47/3

SRH had lost 3 crucial wickets in the power play itself. Shakib al Hasan and Manish Pandey had the responsibility to build the innings for the team. Bravo bowled the 7th over. Problems didn't seem to be over for SRH as Shakib got a glove on the ball while going for a pull short and Dhoni did no mistake behind the wickets. Shakib had to depart and Yusuf Pathan was the new man in. Jadeja was introduced into the attack in the 8th over. Batsmen were already under pressure and relied only on singles. Jadeja conceded just 3 runs including 3 dots in the over. Bravo continued from the other end and started off with consecutive short-pitch deliveries. Bravo gave just 7 runs in his over. SRH stood at 61/4 after 9 overs.

With a run rate of just over run-a-ball both the SRH batsmen were reeling under pressure as one more wicket and they would have completely lost the control over the game. Jadeja bowled the 10th over and conceded just 3 runs. Dhoni was looking for another wicket and brought back Deepak Chahar into the attack. Even though the batsmen were being careful Chahar didn't bowl too many wicket-taking deliveries and looked only to contain the runs further, and he was successful in his objective as he gave just 3 runs in his over. Dhoni continued with Jadeja from the other end. Just when it looked like that the batsmen were had held their nerves Manish Pandey departed, thanks to a soft dismissal. Jadeja caught and bowled Pandey. Carlos Braithwaite was the new man on the crease. SRH had completely lost the rhythm and stood at 69/5 after 12 overs.

SRH was losing wickets at regular intervals. Shardul Thakur was brought back into the attack in the 13th over. Seam bowlers were bowling as per a fixed strategy, and that was to bowl short deliveries, and not provide any easy chances to score runs. Jadeja came in with the 14th over and ended his spell with amazing figures of 1/13. Bravo bowled the 15th over. He bowled his trademark slower deliveries. He bowled a short delivery outside off and Yusuf Pathan pounded it away for a four towards off side, only to be followed by a wonderful catch by Bravo to dismiss Pathan off his own bowling. Pathan attempted a power hit straight down the ground but hit it right into the hands of Bravo. Another caught and bowled and SRH had lost one more wicket. SRH were 88/6 after 15 overs. 

Lungi Ngidi returned for the 16th over. 4 runs came off the over. Bravo came in to bowl the last over of his spell. SRH couldn't cross the 100 run mark in the 17th over as well and Bravo ended a successful spell having taken 2 wickets and conceding just 25 runs in his 4 overs. Shardul Thakur was back and Brathwaite changed his gears and welcomed Thakur with consecutive sixes. Thakur made a good comeback and leaked just 5 more runs in the rest of the over. Lungi Ngidi returned with his last. Brathwaite was trying to experiment too much with his shot selection and Bhuvneshwar wasn't able to connect the ball. The result was that SRH were not able to take as much advantage of the death overs as much they would've wanted to. Ngigi bowled a brilliant 19th over and conceded just 4 runs in it. Thakur bowled the 20th over and it appeared that his brief was to bowl consistently outside off. He tried to do just that. Brathwaite walked towards off, Thakur missed his line and gifted a low full-toss and Brathwaite treated it perfectly with a six. Thakur again bowled outside off but Brathwaite was ready and hit him for a boundary towards covers. SRH's innings ended with another six straight down the ground and Bhuvneshwar's dismissal. SRH posted a low total of 139/7 for their bowlers to defend. Going by the past record and the kind of bowling attack that SRH had, the game was not over yet. CSk needed 140 runs to win the match and reserve a spot for themselves in the final.

Here are a few things to know about the Chennai Super Kings vs Sunrisers Hyderabad (CSK vs SRH) match to be played at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, the two teams' players who could prove handy, and who has said what before the clash:

BCCI treasurer raises questions about timing of IPL play-offs: The friction between Committee of Administrators (CoA) and principal office bearers of BCCI came to fore once again after treasurer Aniruddh Chaudhry questioned the decision of advancing the timing of IPL play-off matches to 7 pm instead of the usual 8 pm start.

Rai said that since double-headers are not involved and prize distribution ceremony takes a lot of time, the 7 pm start looks practical. The treasurer however feels otherwise.

"A decision such as this ought to have been taken well before the tournament started after proper consideration of all factors. We cannot really make up things as we go along as it is not a good practice in my view. It does give an impression of ad-hoc decision making. We are half a month away from the finals and we cannot be deciding on the timings right now," Chaudhry wrote in his mail to the CoA, a copy of which is in possession of PTI.

Women's IPL: Lukewarm response overshadows Supernovas' exciting victory ahead of IPL 2018 Qualifier 1

The much-hyped women's exhibition T20 match had an exciting finish but failed to attract sizeable crowd on a sultry Tuesday afternoon despite the presence of the world's top women cricketers. For the record, Supernovas chased down a target of 130 in a last-ball finish. Needing 10 runs in last two overs, Ellyse Perry (13 not out) struck a boundary off Ekta Bisht but Mona Meshram (4) was run out by Smriti Mandhana off the last bowl of the penultimate over. Needing four off the last over, New Zealand international Suzie Bates conceded just a single in the first three deliveries bringing the equation down to run-a-ball. A composed Pooja Vastrakar (2 not out) lofted to mid-wicket and completed a single to ensure a win for her side. While a women's IPL is a novel idea, the response at ground zero was a testimony that BCCI still has some way to go before the idea takes a final shape

How CSK and SRH compare in head-to-head encounters in IPL matches played so far

Overall

Matches: 9

Chennai Super Kings won: 8

Sunrisers Hyderabad won: 2