- Chennai Super Kings will be playing their seventh IPL final on Sunday.
- The Chennai-based franchise have lost their last three finals — 2012, 2013 and 2015.
- Sunrisers Hyderabad are bidding to win their second title after success under David Warner in 2016.
Former champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) meet in the final of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018 at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday, May 27.
When is the IPL final and how to watch it live on TV, online in India
CSK vs SRH will start at 7 pm IST, 2:30 pm BST.
Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 Hindi, Star Sports Tamil, and Star Sports Select 1 will provide live television coverage of the match in India. The live stream will be available on Hotstar.
CSK vs SRH - IPL 2018 final preview
Cricket fans couldn't have asked for more as the best batting side in the league — CSK — and the best bowling side — SRH — are set to meet in Sunday's final. The Super Kings score 35.04 on an average per wicket while the Sunrisers pick up every 24.21 balls.
Both teams have been consistent in the ongoing season and deservedly are battling for the coveted title after finishing 1-2 on the points table at the end of the round-robin league stage.
The two teams have met thrice in the tournament and the Super Kings have emerged successfully on all three occasions, including the Qualifier 1 where they sealed victory yet again in the final over on Tuesday, May 22.
Can Super Kings end this losing streak in Sunday's final?
The Super Kings, given the wealth of experience and big-match players, will certainly start the final as favourites. The likes of skipper MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, and Dwayne Bravo have been part of their title-winning teams while Harbhajan Singh has been a key member of Mumbai Indians' successful teams of the past.
On the other hand, their track record in title matches is worth having a look at. CSK have been in the final of IPL six times in the past, managing to win only twice. They have lost three IPL finals on the bounce — 2012, 2013 and 2015.
However, Dhoni will be banking on the seasoned campaigners to do the job in the big final. Having snatched victories from jaws of defeats consistently throughout the season, CSK should be better-equipped to handle pressure later today.
It was a bit emotional at the start, but once tournament starts you have to be professional than emotional. @ChennaiIPL fans have waited and wanted us to do well. @msdhoni #VIVOIPL #FInal #CSKvSRH pic.twitter.com/6MDZTcv5WP
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 26, 2018
CSK's batting has looked solid in the ongoing season, with four of their batsmen — Ambati Rayudu, Shane Watson, Dhoni and Raina — scoring more than 400 runs each. The likes of Faf du Plessis and Bravo have chipped in at crucial stages over the last few weeks.
Meanwhile, CSK's bowling had been inconsistent in the initial stages of the tournament but the fast bowling duo of Deepak Chahar and Lungi Ngidi have added firepower to the unit with a good mix of swing and pace.
Rashid Khan threat at the Wankhede
Even as SRH's bowling unit has collectively put in quite a few match-winning performances, no other bowler has made as big an impact as Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan has.
The 19-year-old single-handedly bailed Sunrisers out of trouble with an all-round show (3 for 19 & 10-ball 34) against the Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday in Qualifier 2. He also had come up with a miserly spell (2 for 11) against the Super Kings on Tuesday where he dismissed Dhoni with an unplayable wrong'un.
The leg-spinner, who has snared 21 wickets in the competition so far, will hold the key but the Super Kings also need to be wary of the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Siddharth Kaul, who have troubled batsmen with their consistency so far.
On the other hand, Williamson would want the Sunrisers' middle-order to step up and provide support to himself and Shikhar Dhawan, who have been scoring the bulk of runs.
IPL 2018 final live stream and global TV listings
- UK: TV - Sky Sports; Live stream - skysports.com, Sky Go
- USA: Willow, Hotstar
- Australia: Fox Sports
- New Zealand: Sky Sport
- Pakistan: TV - Geo Super; Live stream - www.geosuper.tv, www.geo.tv
- Afghanistan: Lemar TV
Key players to watch out for
Ambati Rayudu
CSK's new-recruit has been in fine form with the bat in the ongoing season. While he has amassed 586 runs from 15 matches, his performances against the Sunrisers in the league stages were special. The captain of Hyderabad Ranji Trophy team scored a total of 179 runs, including an unbeaten century, against Williamson's men but he was dismissed for 0 in the Qualifier 1.
Rashid Khan
CSK will be hoping to play out four overs from Khan without taking a lot of risks. However, surviving against the leg-spinner by only blocking is not an easy thing and thus the Men in Yellow need to find different ways of tackling him today.
Pitch and conditions - Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Wankhede has traditionally offered good cricket wickets by providing assistance to both the batsmen and the bowlers. Spinners will get some help but there will be bounce on offer when the new ball is in operation.
A cloudy evening has been forecasted in Mumbai.
Team News - IPL 2018 final
CSK probable playing XI: MS Dhoni (c & wk), Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Deepak Chahar, Harbhajan Singh, Shardul Thakur, Lungi Ngidi.
SRH probable playing XI: Kane Williamson (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Deepak Hooda, Yusuf Pathan, Shakib al Hasan, Carlos Brathwaite, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddharth Kaul, Sandeep Sharma.
