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Shane Watson became only the second player to score a century in an IPL final
Shane Watson's ruthless century steered Chennai Super Kings to their third IPL title as they overcame Sunrisers Hyderabad by eight wickets in Mumbai.
Watson blazed 117 not out from 57 deliveries - the highest score ever made in an IPL final - to guide MS Dhoni's side to victory with nine balls to spare.
The Australian shared a second-wicket stand of 117 with Suresh Raina as CSK comfortably chased down what had looked a challenging Sunrisers total of 178-6.
Watson became only the second batsman to score a ton in an IPL final after Wriddhiman Saha, who hit 115 for Kings XI Punjab four years ago and is now a Sunrisers player, but missed the final through injury.
Dhoni's decision to bowl first initially paid dividends as Karn Sharma's throw from deep gave him a straightforward run-out to dimiss Shreevats Goswami (5) attempting an ambitious second run.
A partnership of 51 between Shikhar Dhawan and Kane Williamson kept Sunrisers on track, with the New Zealand star passing 700 runs for the tournament in the process.
But both eventually perished to spin, with Dhawan (26) bowled trying to swing Ravindra Jadeja through the leg side and Sharma having Williamson stumped three short of his half-centuryYusuf Pathan took up the baton, clubbing four fours and two sixes in his unbeaten 45 from 25 balls, while Shakib Al Hasan cracked 23 before falling to Raina's smart catch at cover. A tight spell by Lungi Ngidi (1-26) restricted the Sunrisers' charge in the closing overs, but Carlos Brathwaite hammered three sixes to score 21 from 11 deliveries and ensure CSK were set almost nine an over. The parsimonious Bhuvneshwar Kumar - who opened with a maiden and conceded just nine from his next two overs - ensured that the Super Kings made an uncertain start in the powerplay. They lost the early wicket of Faf du Plessis (10), who skied a return catch to Sandeep Sharma - but the experienced pairing of Watson and Raina never looked flustered as the required run-rate rose.
The former Australia vice-captain took 11 balls to get off the mark, but he soon made up for lost time with a string of powerful blows, swinging Shakib for six to bring up his half-century.
Three colossal leg-side sixes in as many balls from the hapless Sharma confirmed the Super Kings' supremacy, although Brathwaite finally broke the partnership when Raina (32) gloved a bouncer through to the keeper.
But it made no difference to the outcome as Watson brought up his ton from just 51 balls and Ambati Rayudu (16*) sealed victory with a cover drive to the boundary in the penultimate over.
Source: www.skysports.com
