Who will win CSK vs SRH, IPL 2018 Final?
Sunrisers Hyderabad and Chennai Super Kings will battle it out to be crowned Indian Premier League champions 2018 in Mumbai. Scheduled to start on May 27, the live action begins at 19:00 local time.
CSK vs SRH: Where to watch/Live streaming
TV channels: Star Sports, Sky Sports, Willow TV, SuperSport, Geo Super, Channel 9, Fox Sports, BeIN Sport
Live streaming: Hotstar, SuperSport, Yupp TV, Sky Go,
Toss Prediction
Chennai Super Kings have won the toss in their last six consecutive matches, with MS Dhoni opting to field first on all five occasions. Sunrisers have lost the toss three times in a row, and opted to bat first last time they did win.
Read on for team previews, match prediction, betting tips and latest odds for Chennai Super Kings vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, Indian Premier League 2018 final.
CSK Team News & Playing 11
CSK Team News
Chennai Super Kings are likely to stick with the same side that beat Sunrisers Hyderabad in the first play-off, with Faf du Plessis' match-winning knock enough to earn the South African captain the opening batting spot alongside Shane Watson.
Watson's five-ball duck was his second consecutive low, slow score but he hit a half-century in the win against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Pune prior to that. Compared to Sam Billings, Chennai's most other likely option for an overseas spot, Watson is in significantly better form.
Shardal Thakur was expensive with the ball but has taken seven wickets in his last five matches - which should be enough to keep him in the starting XI for the final.
CSK Key Players for IPL Final
Faf du Plessis led Chennai Super Kings to play-off victory against Sunrisers Hyderabad last time out to earn them their place in the final. His unbeaten 67 included five fours and four sixes as the Super Kings chased down 140 to win with five balls to spare. Du Plessis' first half-century of this year's tournament was indicative of Chennai's batting strength in depth, given the rare failures of their other star men.
Ambati Rayudu has been one of the leading batsmen in the IPL this season with 586 runs from 15 innings - his first-baller in the play-off was a rare failure given he scored 100 and 79 in his two previous matches against Sunrisers Hyderabad this season. MS Dhoni has contributed late order runs to pass 450 for the season, meanwhile, while Shane Watson has 438 runs so far including a century earlier in the competition. Suresh Raina's 22 saw him pass 400 for the season in the last match too.
With the ball, Lungi Ngidi has been in outstanding form, with the South African bowling economically and claiming plenty of wickets. His 1/20 in the play-off took him to ten from six games, and his last 11 overs in the tournament have gone for just 44 runs in total. Shardal Thakur is Chennai's leading wicket-taker this year, meanwhile, having taken his 15th in the play-off.
CSK Form in IPL 2018
Chennai claimed back-to-back victories for the first time since beating RC Bangalore in their sixth match in order to book their place in this final. They have won three of their last four matches in total, including twice beating Sunrisers Hyderabad in that time.
Their IPL 2018 started with a series of thrilling finishes - they beat Mumbai by one wicket with one ball to spare in the opening game, and then chased down Kolkata's 202 with one ball remaining again in their next match.
Kings XI Punjab halted their charge, winning by four runs in the third game, before Watson's century helped Chennai Super Kings beat Rajasthan Royals by 64 runs to get back to winning ways. Back-to-back victories, with Ambati Rayudu in superb batting form, followed against Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Since then, however, they have not won consecutive matches as mentioned. Their total of 169/5 was not enough to beat Mumbai Indians, but they scored 211/4 in a 13-run win against Delhi Daredevils the following week. They then failed to defend 177/5 against Kolkata, but bounced back thanks to some superb bowling as they beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by six wickets. Jos Buttler's inspired form was too much for them next up, however, as they could not defend 176/4 against Rajasthan Royals.
Chennai have won three of their last four, however, beating Sunrisers by eight wickets thanks to Ambati Rayudu's unbeaten century to get back to winning ways. Defeat to Delhi Daredevils followed, but Lungi Ngidi's superb bowling - claiming 4/10 against Kings XI Punjab in the final group game - ensured they finished the league stage on a high. And, last time out, they successfully chased 140 with five balls and two wickets to spare to book their spot in the IPL final.
Key Stats for CSK
Harbhajan Singh's next wicket at the Wankhede Stadium will be his 50th IPL scalp at the venue - only Lasith Malinga has taken more at the ground.
Chennai Super Kings have won both of their matches at the Wankhede Stadium this season, beating Mumbai Indians by one wicket in a thrilling season opener, before their play-off victory against Sunrisers Hyderabad last time out.
Ambati Rayudu has scored 179 runs against Sunrisers Hyderabad this season, including an unbeaten century - his first in the competition - when they met in Pune.
Only one bowler has a better economy rate than Lungi Ngidi in this year's IPL - Rajasthan Royals' Ish Sodhi. Of all bowlers to have taken ten or more wickets, Ngidi is the only one to have conceded less than a run a ball.
CSK Predicted Playing 11
Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni, Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar, Harbhajan Singh, Shardul Thakur, Lungi Ndidi
SRH Team News & Playing 11
SRH Team News
Sunrisers Hyderabad booked their place in the final by ending a losing streak just in time - and it was no coincidence that their return to winning ways coincided with the return from injury of Wriddhiman Saha.
Saha and Deepak Hooda were both recalled to the side for their play-off win against Kolkata Knight Riders, while Khaleel Ahmed was handed his first start of this year's tournament. The latter's bowling was expensive, but Saha and Hooda should definitely continue. That would mean Shreevats Goswami missing out. Manish Pandey and Sandeep Sharma were also dropped for the previous match, while Alex Hales has not played since missing the final group game - Carlos Braithwaite being preferred to the England opener.
SRH Key Players for IPL Final
Kane Williamson will win this year's orange cap after hitting eight half-centuries on his way to 688 runs from his 16 innings in this year's competition. Even two low scores in his last two matches have failed to knock his average below the 50 mark and nobody has more half-centuries than the Sunrisers Hyderabad captain this season.
Opener Shikhar Dhawan has scored 471 runs from 15 innings, including a knock of 79 from 49 balls against Chennai Super Kings in the league stage. His first-ball duck was the catalyst for their play-off loss against the Super Kings, so if he can stick around it will be a huge boost to the Sunrisers.
Rashid Khan was their play-off hero, meanwhile. The Afghanistan teenager finished the innings with 34 from ten balls and then bowled superbly, recording figures of 3/19 from his four overs. Khan now has 21 wickets at an average of 20.66 and an economy rate of 6.78 - the best of the top 25 wicket-takers in this season's tournament.
Siddarth Kaul also has 21 wickets from 16 matches, while Shakib-al-Hasan has 14 - and the Bangladeshi all-rounder's economical bowling in tandem with Khan was a key moment in the play-off win against Kolkata Knight Riders.
Sunrisers Hyderabad bounced back to winning ways just in time to book their final spot - ending a run of four losses. They had previously won six in a row to top the table despite their poor finish to the league stage.
Economical bowling was key in their first three matches, as they chased down targets of 126, 148 and 139 to start the season in style. Shikhar Dhawan scored 77 and 45 to top score in home wins against Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians before Kane Williamson's 50 in the win at Eden Gardens against Kolkata. The following two games saw them fail to chase down 193 against Kings XI Punjab and then fall four runs short of Chennai Super Kings' 182/3 in the first meeting between these two teams this year.
They hit back with more impressive bowling displays, however, defending 118 to beat Mumbai Indians by 31 runs in their league game at the Wankhede Stadium - Siddarth Kaul claiming 3/23 from four overs, Rashid Khan taking 2/11 and Sandeep Sharma bowling 14 dot balls out of 18 as he finished with three overs and figures of 1-9. They followed that up by defending 132/6 to beat Kings XI Punjab by 13 runs - Khan again impressing with 3/19 from his four overs.
The batsmen hit back thereafter, as Kane Williamson, Alex Hales and Shikhar Dhawan all weighed in with big scores in victories against Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Daredevils, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi again - the latter seeing Dhawan's 92* from 50 balls earn him the man of the match award, despite Rishabh Plant hitting an unbeaten 128 for the hosts.
Dhawan and Williamson have continued to impress with the bat even as Sunrisers' winning streak ended, meanwhile - Dhawan hit 78 in an eight-wicket defeat to Chennai Super Kings, Williamson scored a 42-ball 81 as Sunrisers fell 14 runs short of Royal Challengers Bangalore's target and then Dhawan hit a 50 in the final group game but the team could not defend 172/9 against Kolkata.
Play-off defeat to Chennai Super Kings continued their poor run of form, but Rashid Khan's stunning all-round performance was enough to defeat Kolkata Knight Riders and earn them a shot at winning their second IPL title in three seasons.
Key Stats for SRH
Rashid Khan has taken five wickets so far in the play-offs at an average of just six. His eight overs have cost just 30 runs - an economy rate of 3.75.
Khan's economy rate for the tournament of 6.78 is the lowest of any of the top 25 wicket-takers in this year's competition.
Khan and Siddarth Kaul have taken 21 wickets apiece in this year's competition, making them the best bowling combination in this year's IPL - both need a four-for to overhaul Andrew Tye at the top of the wicket-taking charts.
Kane Williamson will win the orange cap for most runs unless Ambati Rayudu scores 103 more than the New Zealander in the IPL final. No batsman has scored more half-centuries than Williamson (eight) in this year's IPL.
SRH Predicted Playing 11
Shikhar Dhawan, Wriddhiman Saha, Kane Williamson, Shakib-al-Hasan, Deepak Hooda, Yusuf Pathan, Carlos Braithwaite, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sandeep Sharma, Siddarth Kaul
May 27, 2018
19:00 IST / 13:30 GMT
Wankhede Stadium - Mumbai, India
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