Chennai Super Kings, on Friday, beat the Delhi Capitals by six wickets to make it to its eighth Indian Premier League (IPL) final where it will lock horns with the Mumbai Indians on Sunday.
Acing knockouts is an art the MS Dhoni-led CSK has mastered, and it was on display once again as it rode out a slow start to make light work of Delhi Captals' 148-run target.
READ| The bowlers deserve credit for where we are this season, says Dhoni
Fifties from openers Faf du Plessis and Shane Watson spearhead CSK's run chase. Watson, who has blown hot and cold this season, came good when it mattered and the Aussie right-hander thanked the team management for reposing faith in him.
"The faith CSK continue to show in me when it's been a challenging IPL for me, it was nice tonight. The way Faf got going, I could take my time getting into rhythm.
"It took me a little while, and Faf batted beautifully, to be able to take on the bowlers at that stage. There's huge positives about age and experience, and that's the way CSK has played, from the top with MS and Stephen Fleming.
"We know what to do in different situations, we have made the most of our experience. It's been an absolute honour to play with Dhoni at CSK because I've learned a hell of a lot from him," Watson said after his match-winning knock.
CSK had lost five of its last seven matches, the dominance of the early weeks feeling like events from a distant past but on Friday night, it shrugged off the rustiness on display in the past few matches romping home into its second consecutive IPL final.
Comments
SHARE