IPL 2018, Qualifier 1, SRH vs CSK: 5 talking points

Chennai Super Kings grabbed victory from the jaws of defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Qualifier 1 of the 2018 IPL at the Wankhede on Tuesday to make their way into the final which will be played on Sunday.

CSK looked to have made a meal of chasing down a target of 140 runs after yet another impressive showing from the SRH bowling line-up before Faf du Plessis single-handedly led his side to victory by two wickets with an unbeaten knock of 67 from just 42 balls.

Here are the five major talking points from tonight's match:

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#5 CSK's clinical bowling strangles SRH

Chennai Super Kings have their batsmen to thank for their march into the playoff stage of the 2018 IPL with the likes of Ambati Rayudu, Shane Watson, Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni all scoring in excess of 400 runs during the league phase of the competition.

In contrast, the bowling has been a worry for CSK, with the ever-dependable Dwayne Bravo's struggles during the season, the major cause of concern.

However, tonight at the Wankhede, the CSK bowlers were exceptional with their line and length, pitching very few balls in the driving zone.

They stuck to their plan of bowling consistently short of a length, not allowing the SRH batsmen to free their arms. Shikhar Dhawan's first-ball dismissal was a result of this very plan and the CSK bowling line-up maintained it that way all the way up to the final over before Carlos Brathwaite got stuck into Shardul Thakur.

#4 Carlos Brathwaite's late flourish

The big-hitting West Indian utilized the opportunity to flex his arms tonight

Carlos Brathwaite's four consecutive sixes in the final over to win the 2016 World T20 is slowly fading into a distant memory and it was evident in the way the teams approached the player auction for the big-hitting West Indian with only Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kings XI Punjab showing an interest before the former bagged the 29-year-old's services for a sum of Rs 2 crore.

Brathwaite had to wait until the final game of SRH's league campaign to get a chance in the playing eleven and while he missed out in that game against KKR, he came to the party tonight with a few hefty blows towards the end of the innings to help SRH post a fighting total against CSK.

Brathwaite scored 43 off 29 balls and got 20 runs off the final over bowled by Shardul Thakur that helped SRH head into the innings break with a renewed sense of confidence.

#3 Rashid Khan weaves his magic yet again

Rashid Khan picked up two wickets conceding just 11 runs in his 4 overs

The most probable reason why CSK pushed down Ambati Rayudu down the order from his highly successful opening slot for tonight's match against SRH would have been to counter the threat of the dangerous Rashid Khan.

However, that plan went for a toss when Rayudu was dismissed early on off a slow yorker by Siddarth Kaul and CSK were well and truly struggling at 24/3 before Rashid had even been brought into the attack.

That made life a lot easier for the Afghanistan spinner and he made the most of the opportunity by producing yet another magical spell of bowling, in which he picked up the wickets of both MS Dhoni and Dwayne Bravo.

The CSK skipper has had his issues with off-spinners in the past and that came back to haunt him tonight as he failed to pick the wrong one from Rashid that went through the back between Dhoni's bat and pad before dislodging the stumps.

Rashid also accounted for Bravo's wicket and only conceded 11 runs in his four overs to once again prove his credentials as the premier T20 bowler in the world.

#2 Shardul Thakur makes amends

Shardul Thakur had a bad day with the ball but made up for it with the bat and in some style too

Shardul Thakur's IPL 2018 has been a mixed bag with a number of inconsistent performances and tonight's match proved a similar experience as he struggled with the ball, conceding 50 runs in his four overs on a night when the opposition had scored only 139 runs in their 20 overs.

He was the unlucky bowler when Carlos Brathwaite got into his stride in the final over of the SRH innings, in which 20 runs were scored but Thakur made amends when the opportunity came his way with the bat.

Faf du Plessis's gritty innings had helped CSK stay in the contest but they still needed 27 to win off 13 balls with just two wickets in hand when Thakur walked into the crease.

One would have expected Thakur to just knock the ball and hand the strike to Du Plessis but the young fast bowler took matters into his own hands and came out with flying colours, scoring 15 runs off just 5 balls, playing his part in a 27-run partnership that led CSK to an unlikely win.

#1 Faf du Plessis's match-winning knock

Du Plessis deservedly picked up the MoM award for his unbeaten knock of 67 off 42 balls

Faf du Plessis' 2018 IPL has been a short experience thus far with a mix of injury and good form from the top-order CSK batsmen restricting the South African to just 4 appearances before tonight's big match.

He has not been able to do much of note this season but the CSK team management still made a huge call to not only include Du Plessis for tonight's match but also have him open the innings in place of Ambati Rayudu who has enjoyed plenty of success at the top for CSK this season.

CSK had a bad start, being reduced to 39/4 losing the key wickets of Watson, Raina, Rayudu and Dhoni and kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Du Plessis stood firm though at the other end, fighting a lone battle waiting for some support at the other end.

Du Plessis had a lucky escape himself after initially being given out LBW off Rashid Khan before the decision was overturned via referral.

He made his way to a gritty half-century but the manner in which SRH has successfully defended low totals in the 2018 IPL, it seemed as if Kane Williamson's side was destined for victory before Du Plessis finally found the support he was looking for in the form of Shardul Thakur.

Their 27-run partnership off 9 balls sealed a truly memorable win for CSK but if not for Du Plessis, MS Dhoni's side could have well ended up playing the Qualifier 2. But its the final that awaits CSK now with Du Plessis deservingly hitting the winning runs with a six.

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