IPL 2018: Sachin Tendulkar congratulates CSK as they proceed to the finals

Sachin Tendulkar described the game on Tuesday afternoon with absolute perfection – a roller coaster ride. Chennai Super Kings clinched yet another nail-biting finish in the 1st Qualifier match against the Sunrisers Hyderabad played at Wankhede, Mumbai, and booked their berth in the finals. This is the 7th final that CSK will be playing, out of the 9 times they have participated.

The game kept swaying from one side to the other throughout the match, until Faf du Plessis finally put the nail in the coffin, and took the match home with a sixer. In a tournament where almost every match is nerve-wracking and filled with anticipation, this one took it a level higher.

Here is what Sachin Tendulkar wrote

Master Blaster himself took to Twitter and posted about the SRH vs CSK match. His tweet read: What a game. A total roller coaster ride. @ChennaiIPL didn’t lose heart and @SunRisers played their hearts out!! Well done guys”

There could not be a better description of the match. Setting a sort of middle-of-the-road target in front of the yellow brigade, the chances of SRH looked quite dim. But captain Kane Williamson put his faith on the powerhouse bowling unit, and it paid off. CSK was reduced to 92/7 by the 16th over while chasing the 140 runs total.

An innings of cement by Faf du Plessis (67 from 42 balls) and a whirlwind, match-winning knock by Shardul Thakur (15 from 5 balls) saved the day for CSK. At one point during the chase, the match really did seem to have slipped out of CSK’s hand. But in their trademark style, they clawed their way back in and secured their seat in the final. In the end, it was about who could keep the nerves and handle the pressure, something that has been traditionally a forte of CSK.

6 runs were needed from the last over, but Faf sealed the deal without much of an ado with a six off the first ball. SRH will now get a second chance at the finals if they can beat the winner of the Eliminator match to be held on Wednesday at the Eden Gardens.

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