Mumbai: South Africa captain Faf du Plessis came up with a Houdini act to guide Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to their seventh IPL final with a two-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad in what has been a fairy-tale comeback for the two-time champions.
Chasing a modest target of 140, CSK were down in the dumps at 92 for seven, before Du Plessis (67 not out off 42 balls) engineered a stunning comeback and fittingly finished the match with a straight six off Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
With 43 needing off last three overs, Du Plessis, who opened the batting, tore into Carlos Brathwaite as he smashed the West Indian for 20 in the 18th over, which included two sixes and as many fours. Having done precious little in the tournament so far, the stylish right-hander put his hand up when it mattered most.
Siddarth Kaul, bowling the 19th over, paid for his inexperience in a crunch game as 17 runs came off it with No. 10 batsman Shardul Thakur (15 not out off five balls) got three boundaries including a streaky one. Then it was Du Plessis, who finished the match having hit five fours and four maximums.
However, Sunrisers bowlers do deserve credit for making a match out of a small total. But this time their luck ran out in the end.
Shane Watson edged one off Bhuvneshwar, while Kaul (two for 32) castled Suresh Raina (22 off 13 balls) and in-form Ambati Rayudu off successive deliveries. Mahendra Singh Dhoni failed to read a googly from Rashid Khan, while Dwayne Bravo was done in by extra bounce, edging to Shikhar Dhawan at slip.
Du Plessis waged a lone battle as wickets fell in a heap at the other end, with Sandeep Sharma getting rid of Ravindra Jadeja and Deepak Chahar.
Earlier, CSK bowlers utilised the lively conditions to the fullest, restricting Sunrisers Hyderabad to a modest 139 for seven after opting to bowl. Effective seam bowling in Powerplay swung the game towards two-time champions early on in the innings and they never let it slacken except towards the end when Carlos Brathwaite (43 not out off 29 balls) laid into Shardul Thakur.
Skipper Kane Willamson (24), Yusuf Pathan (24) and Brathwaite were the useful contributors for Sunrisers on a track that offered good bounce. CSK pegged back Sunrisers at 47 for three with both Williamson and opener Dhawan back in the dugout. Dhawan, the second-highest scorer for Sunrisers with 437 runs, was played on off Chahar off the first delivery of the match.
PTI
