IPL Final 2018: Chennai Beat Hyderabad to Be Crowned Champions

Chennai Super Kings were crowned 2018 IPL champions Sunday as they beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by eight wickets in the final at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Shane Watson was the star for Chennai as he hit an unbeaten 117 despite carrying an injury as Chennai cruised to the title.

Chennai won the toss and put Sunrisers in to bat with Shikhar Dhawan and Shreevats Goswami opening proceedings.

Goswami went early as he departed in the second over, which allowed captain Kane Williamson to arrive and look to build some momentum.

Sunrisers looked as though they were starting to take control but then saw Dhawan clean bowled for 26. Williamson followed shortly afterwards, a big blow for Sunrisers.

Broken Cricket showed how impressive he's been this season:

The captain had looked to be getting into some real rhythm but departed for 47 off 36 balls. Shakib Al Hasan added 23, and Yusuf Pathan managed an unbeaten 46 as Sunrisers set Chennai a chase of 179.

Chennai suffered an early blow as they lost the in-form Faf du Plessis for just 10 but were then indebted to a sensational performance from Watson.

The Australian had to be patient initially as he did not score off his first 10 balls but then showcased his power as he dismantled the Sunrisers' attack.

Watson also seemed to pick up an injury midway through the game and was in no mood to run, but it made no difference as he continued to find the boundary with regularity.

The highlight of his performance was in the 13th when he managed a superb 28 runs, as shown by ESPNCricinfo:

A century looked inevitable, and it duly arrived to leave Chennai on the cusp of victory, as shown by Sky Sports:

Ambati Rayudu was the man to seal victory with a four, but the final was all about Watson, who finished on 117 off 57 balls.

Cricket analyst Freddie Wilde explained just how good Watson's innings was:

Sunrisers have had the best attack in the tournament, but they were simply no match for an inspired Watson. His heroics were enough to hand Chennai a third IPL title in some style.