IPL 2018 Final: Chennai Super Kings vs Sunrisers Hyderabad: Who will win the title?

Mumbai, May 26: Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad will face each other on Sunday (May 27) at the Wankhede Stadium here for the ultimate prize - the IPL 2018 title.

They are two evenly matched sides - filled with experienced players and exciting youngsters. It is an ardous task to predict the winner but here Mykhel looks at some possibilities that can decide the champions.

Chennai Super Kings

MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina. Ravindra Jadeja. Dwayne Bravo. The core of the Super Kings has not changed over the years. This season they have added some more experience in the form of Ambati Rayudu, Shane Watson and Harbhajan Singh and the power of youth came through the likes of Deepak Chahar and Lungi Ngidi.

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But the presence of 30+ veterans in the squad and in the playing XI has forced many to rather mercilessly term them as 'Dad's Army'. But now they are the Big Daddies. They have the smoothest of entrance to the IPL final - their seventh in 9 seasons and that experience should stand them in stead come Sunday.

Those experienced hands know how to master the situations and reinvent their respective games accordingly. Then they have that uber cool captain MS Dhoni - Thala for adoring CSK fans. Over the years, he has emerged as a champion captain in limited over versions and in this IPL too he has led from the front with minimum fuss and maximum output. An experienced team with a sharp-thinking captain. It's a deadly combination.

Roar Whistles! #WhistlePodu #Yellove 💛🦁 pic.twitter.com/SEiDhZEChp

— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) May 22, 2018

Key men: MS Dhoni, Dwayne Bravo, Ambati Rayudu, Lungi Ngidi.

Sunrisers Hyderabad

The Hyderabad outfit has not beaten Chennai Super Kings in this edition of the IPL as CSK lead 3-0. So, it's as good a time as any to buck the trend for Sunrisers. They have a good and brave captain in Kane Williamson but unlike his Chennai counterpart the Kiwi is still a bit green behind the ears in captaincy. Will he be able to keep his composure during a high-voltage clash like the IPL final? It remains to be seen.

Of course, Willamson is in good flow as a batsman - 688 runs from 16 games at a touch over 52 with eight fifties to boot will vouch for that. But he hardly had any support from other end. Shikhar Dhawan is there but he has blown hot and blown cold - 471 runs from 15 matches. But the biggest disappointment has been their middle-order comprising Manish Pandey and Yusuf Pathan.

Pick your game changing moment from the thrilling Qualifier yesterday.#SRHvKKR #IPL2018Playoffs #IPL2018 pic.twitter.com/Cl4hsaXRlO

— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) May 26, 2018

Pandey has made 284 runs from 15 games while Pathan milked 215 runs from 14 games and the numbers do not really add to their experience or skills. Yes, they have a brilliant bowling unit capable of defending some paltry totals on any surface. But against the Chennai Super Kings they cannot bank on just one unit of their team. They need a total team effort.

Key men: Kane Williamson, Shikhar Dhawan, Rashid Khan, Siddharth Kaul.