Shane Watson smashed an unbeaten century as Chennai Super Kings beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by eight wickets to win their third Indian Premier League title on Sunday.
Watson's 117 off 57 balls in the final led Chennai to 181-2 in 18.3 overs after Hyderabad had scored 178-6.
Watson, who only scored his first run off the 11th delivery, hit 11 fours and eight sixes. He featured in a match-winning second wicket partnership with Suresh Raina, who made 32.
Earlier, after being put into bat, captain Kane Williamson (47) and Yusuf Pathan (45 not out) helped Hyderabad post a challenging total.
Here’s a look at the IPL 2018 final through numbers.
1. Watson Records Highest Score in an IPL Final
Shane Watson recorded the highest-ever score in an IPL final. The opening batsman, who was unbeaten on 117 runs, went past Wriddhiman Saha’s record of 115* runs.
In the above mentioned highest scores in IPL finals list, Saha’s innings is the only one which wasn’t enough for a victory in the summit clash. The Kings XI Punjab lost to Kolkata Knight Riders by three wickets in the final.
Shane Watson was struggling to score a run in the beginning of his innings, but once he struck a boundary off Sandeep Sharma’s delivery in the fourth over, no one could stop him. He recorded a strike-rate of 205.26 in his innings even though he was suffering from a hamstring injury.
With the century in this IPL final, Watson has equalled Virat Kohli’s record for the second most centuries in the Indian Premier League.
2. Sandeep Sharma Bowls the Most Expensive Over in an IPL Final
Shane Watson sealed the match for the Chennai Super Kings when he smashed Sandeep Sharma for 26 runs (one wide) in the 13th over. The Australian struck three consecutive sixes and two fours in the over.
Interestingly, prior to IPL 2018 final, Watson had bowled the most expensive over in an IPL final. Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Ben Cutting smacked Watson for three sixes and a four in the last over of the team’s innings.
3. CSK Record Largest Win in Terms of Wickets in an IPL Final
Runs on the board is always crucial in big games, but there are teams in the IPL that have held their nerve brilliantly while chasing. The Chennai Super Kings record the largest win in terms of wickets in an IPL final.
Once Shane Watson and Suresh Raina were set in the middle, there was only one team which was going to win the final. The 117-run partnership between the two helped CSK cruise to the target with eight wickets in hand.
4. Most Runs in an IPL Season
Even though Chennai Super Kings won the title, one has to applaud Kane Williamson for the way he has batted during this season. The New Zealand player was made captain after Australia’s David Warner was banned for a year for being a part of the ball-tampering row in March this year.
Along with shouldering the responsibilities of the side, he ensured that he is the backbone of the batting line-up as well. Williamson, who has won the Orange Cap with 735 runs, records the third most runs in an IPL season.
5. Maiden Overs in IPL Finals
Maiden overs are a rarity in T20 cricket, but there were two maidens bowled in the IPL 2018 final. First, Lungi Ngidi bowled a maiden over to Kane Williamson in the fourth over of the match. The SRH captain had a chance to score in the last two deliveries of the over. He missed the fifth ball and hit the sixth one straight to Faf du Plessis at extra cover.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar provided the perfect start for the Sunrisers with the new ball. He swung the ball sensibly to Watson, who had to play out a maiden in the first over. But Bhuvneshwar continued his dot-ball spree in the next over as well, bowling four dots to Faf du Plessis in the third over. In all, Bhuvneshwar recorded 10 dot balls in his first 10 deliveries.
(With inputs from AP)
(Statistics by Arun Gopalakrishnan)
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