IPL 2018, Qualifier 1, SRH vs CSK - Chennai Super Kings Player Ratings

The Chennai Super Kings looked like crashing out of the Qualifier 1 big time. Chasing a modest total of 139, the Men in Yellow messed it up big time to be reduced at 92/7 at one stage. But a very certain Faf du Plessis stayed till the very end to see his side through with two wickets in hand. With the defeat, the Sunrisers Hyderabad have now set a Qualifier 2 date with the winner of the Eliminator. At the same time, the Super Kings have stormed in to the finals.

The Sunrisers Hyderabad were asked to bat first after the Super Kings had won the toss. They had a terrible start with Shikhar Dhawan perishing on the first ball of the match. Kane Williamson led the charge with the bat and scored 24 before getting dismissed. After Kane’s dismissal, the innings lost the plot big time and the SRH team saw themselves slump to 88/6. It was Carlos Brathwaite who then hammered a 29-ball 43 to see the Sunrisers finish with 139/7 in 20 overs.

In the run chase, the Chennai Super Kings had a poor start to their innings. They lost the wickets of Shane Watson and Suresh Raina early. Also, in-form batters Ambati Rayudu and MS Dhoni failed to get going. Sensational bowling from Rashid Khan pushed CSK on the backfoot. All this while, Faf du Plessis took his time to settle in. Eventually, he found a partner in Shardul Thakur and the two players etched an improbable 2 wicket win for their side.

Here are the player ratings for the match:

Shane Watson – 1/10

Shane Watson found his place back in the side. He opened the innings with Faf du Plessis but failed to get going in the game. He was sent packing on a duck by Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the very first over of the run chase. Earlier in the game, Watson was not tried with the ball.

Faf du Plessis – 10/10

It is not a usual site to say that a player had a perfect outing in the game. But Faf du Plessis certainly deserves all the points for his performance. The track was not the easiest to bat on and he kept on losing wickets from the other end. To anchor a run chase in such backdrop with an unbeaten 67 in a big pressure game is commendable. His knock came off 42 balls with five fours and four sixes.

Suresh Raina – 4/10

Suresh Raina had to arrive at the crease early on in the innings. He took the counter attack to the Sunrisers Hyderabad bowling. He looked good for his brisk 22 off 13 deliveries laced with four boundaries. He failed to get going and was bowled round his legs.

Ambati Rayudu – 1/10

Ambati Rayudu has been the man in form for the Chennai Super Kings this season. He was asked to move out from his opening role in the game. He came in to bat at number four and had quite a lot of time to settle at the crease. But the veteran batsman was undone by a slower delivery on the very first ball that he faced.

MS Dhoni – 2/10

MS Dhoni arrived at the crease to bat in a very critical situation in the game. The way he tried to get his eyes in showed his determination to end the game for his side. Dhoni, however, failed to continue after scoring 9 off 18 balls and was dismissed by Rashid Khan. Earlier in the game, Dhoni pocketed two catches and even inflicted a run out.

Dwayne Bravo – 8/10

Dwayne Bravo was expected to play the second fiddle to Faf du Plessis in the run chase. The Windies veteran showed some promise but had a failed outing with the bat. Earlier in the match, he bowled his complete quota of four overs and returned with figures of 2/25 to his name. He took the wickets of Shakib Al Hasan and Yusuf Pathan.

Deepak Chahar – 7.5/10

Deepak Chahar has been a revelation for the Chennai Super Kings this season. He provided a phenomenal start to the Super Kings in the match by dismissing Shikhar Dhawan on the very first ball of the match. He finished with figures of 1/31 in the four overs that he bowled.

Harbhajan Singh – 1/10

In a surprising move, the CSK skipper did not give the ball to Harbhajan Singh in the match even for a single over. The veteran cricketer got his opportunity to make his presence felt later in the game. But he largely wasted it and could only struggle for 9 balls before scoring 2.

Ravindra Jadeja – 8/10

Ravindra Jadeja’s struggle with the bat continued in this game as well. He could only score 3 with the bat. Earlier in the game, he bowled an exceptional spell of four overs. He conceded just 13 runs and bagged the wicket of Manish Pandey.

Lungi Ngidi – 8.5/10

Lungi Ngidi was the pick of the bowlers for the Chennai Super Kings in the previous game. Ngidi continued his good form with the ball in this game as well. He got the wicket of Sreevats Goswami in the match. He finished with figures of 1/20 in the four overs that he bowled.

Shardul Thakur – 7.5/10

Shardul Thakur had a very bad day at office with the ball in hand. He was taken away for 50 runs in the four overs that he bowled. This included a final over flourish from Carlos Brathwaite. Earlier, he had managed to take the big wicket of Kane Williamson. Later in the game, he played a very big role in shifting the momentum of the chase. Thakur remained unbeaten on 15 off just 5 balls to seal the fate of the game.

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