#ThisDayThatYear: Chennai Super Kings announce comeback with third IPL title
On this day in 2018, Chennai Super kings clinched a third Indian Premier League title. The MS Dhoni-led side trounced Sunrisers Hyderabad in the grand finale at the Wankhede Stadium. Despite being labelled the 'Dad's Army' following the mega auction, CSK silenced the critics by adding yet another trophy to their cabinet. Here is how the high-voltage final unfolded.
SRH lost Shreevats Goswami early on after CSK elected to bowl on a bouncy Wankhede strip. Shikhar Dhawan bolstered the innings before a searing delivery from Ravindra Jadeja bowled him out. Skipper Kane Williamson's 47 off 36 balls kept the scoreboard alive with Yusuf Pathan also adding an unbeaten 45. An 11-ball 21 by Carlos Brathwaite propelled SRH to 178/6 in the end.
Although Faf du Plessis was removed in the fourth over, Shane Watson single-handedly swept the entire match. In spite of struggling at the start, the Australian all-rounder tormented every single bowler in the following overs. His 57-ball 117* brought Chennai Super Kings home with one over to spare. Suresh Raina (32) and Ambati Rayudu (16*) too contributed in the run-chase.
Watson's formidable innings was studded with 11 fours and 8 sixes. Notably, he did not score a single run in his first 10 deliveries. With a record second ton, he became the fourth player to have registered two or more hundreds in an IPL season. His unbeaten 117 is still the highest-ever score in an IPL final. Watson has four tons in IPL.
Chennai Super Kings became the second franchise after Mumbai Indians to grab three IPL titles (2010, 2011 and 2018). Interestingly, the Yellow Army has never missed the playoffs berth in any season (except 2016 and 2017), having qualified for as many as eight finals.
