Chennai Super Kings Profile
 |
| image credit - Wikipedia |
Captain: MS Dhoni
Coach: Stephen Fleming
Home ground: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
IPL Titles: 3
Owners: Chennai Super Kings Cricket Ltd (a subsidiary of India Cement)
Of the most consistent IPL franchise ever, CSK was led by MS Dhoni in 3 titles and finished under 4th place only once. The franchise is owned by India Cement, which is N Srinivasan, former BCCI president and former ICC chairman. CSK bought Rs 360 crore in 2008.
History
In a flexible way, the Chennai Super Kings reached knockouts in ten of the 11 seasons when they were part of the IPL. Dhoni, who was the highest paid player (Rs 9.5 crore, about US $ 1.5 million) in the first auction, became the face, heart and soul of the party. His emotions, in line with coach Stephen Fleming's tactics, have been central to the success of the Super Kings over the years.
After losing the final to the final in 2008, and the semi-finals in 2009, CSK won their return titles for the next two seasons. They were interrupted by knocking on the next four IPLs and were banned for two years by the Load High Court appointed by the High Court for the shame of fixing spots. In 2018, however, CSK marked their return with their third title - though, or because of, their squad is tough on players over the age of 30.
In 2019 the Super Kings played a fantastic final against their bogey rivals, Mumbai, while Rohit Sharma and Co ended up stealing one of their victories.
Height
The Super Kings were hailed as the “Dad’s Army” after the 2018 auction, but they showed the critics were wrong, with Shane Watson, one of their players over the age of 30, bringing their third IPL crown in an unprecedented final. They would not ask for a better return on a two-year suspension.
Downfall
The Super Kings beat up their nadir when one of their officers, Gurunath Meiyappan, Srinivasan's son-in-law, was arrested on charges of fraud, fraud and embezzlement. Two years later, the Super Kings franchise was also suspended due to Meiyappan's activities. The worst time for Dhoni in 2020 was also not the best for CSK: they failed to get the playoffs for the first time in their history.
Season with Position
2008 - 2nd
Riding on the splendor of their seamers with Dhoni and Suresh Raina with bat, CSK wrapped up 8 wins in 14 league games and beat Kings XI Punjab easily in the semi-finals. Their seamers dragged the final to the last ball, but Shane Warne and Sohail Tanvir secured a happy ending for Rajasthan.
2009 - 4th
The IPL advanced to South Africa, where Matthew Hayden, Raina and Murali came together to help the Super Kings finish 2nd in the points table. However, the Royal Challengers Bangalore defeated them in the semi-finals.
2010 - Champion
The time when Doni became Chennai's thala. In the final, Kieron Pollard threatened to take the game, but Dhoni stopped Hayden at mid-off and CSK eventually packed up their first IPL title.
2011 - Champion
CSK turned Chepauk into a standout this season, winning all of its games there, including the finals. Suraj Randiv intervened to fill the gap for Murali, while Shadab Jakati and Doug Bollinger had their moments, but R Ashwin was the leading bowler, even sending Chris Gayle for 0 in the final - where Vijay scored 95 off 52 balls.
2012 - 2nd
Their 5th eight-time win in the league came home, with Vijay putting CSK into the final. Vijay, Mike Hussey and Raina all got well in the final, but the unnamed Manvinder Bisla denied Dhoni's men to take the hattrick of titles.
2013 - 2nd
Winning 7 games prepared them for the qualifiers, in which Hussey, impressively that season, met Mumbai with a fine 86-goal unbeaten run, and started a title race against the same opponents. CSK reduced Mumbai to 52 out of 4 finalists, but Pollard scaled the Mumbai route with 60 unbeaten 32 balls.
2014 - 3rd
CSK lost their opening game, facing Kings XI Punjab in Abu Dhabi, although they collected 205 for 4. But they also won 8 of the other 9 games heading into the playoffs again, although their home games were postponed to Ranchi due to the disputed area. Raina hit 87 off 25 balls against Kings XI in the 2nd qualifying match, but it wasn't enough to take them to the final.
2015 - 2nd
Another great aseason in Chepauk, won 6 of 7 home games. They won 3 on the way to the top of the table, and then saw the RCB finish in the second qualifying match. However, Mumbai Indians again beat them in the final. This was the IPL led by the tailors, Dwayne Bravo of CSK finishing at the top of the wickets charts with Ashish Nehra in fourth place.
2016, 2017 - Suspended
2018 - Champions
CSK played just one game in Chepauk before their home was relocated to Pune over a water dispute over the Cauvery River. Lungi Ngidi provided significant improvements to the ready-made tracks in Pune, and in the event of a split, CSK defeated the Sunrisers in the first qualifying and final round to return to their winning streak.
2019 - 2nd
Eventually they returned to Chepauk, CSK banking on their old win template, bringing 6 wins to 7 home games in the league. The defeat alone took place in the hands of Mumbai, where Dhoni lived to manage his difficult climb. He returned to the first qualifying match but Mumbai beat them there, then returned to the finals, this time with one run.
2020 - 7th
After Raina and Harbhajan Singh withdrew from the tournament due to personal reasons, CSK management decided not to run for office, and in the second half of the season, the aging side "ran out of juice", as Fleming put it. Dhoni and Jadhav struggled in the middle order and the spinners had no power away from Chepauk.
Great players
MS Dhoni
Although the figures change the position of the T20, Dhoni continues to rely on his sense of control over the Super Kings victory. While his power struggles have diminished in recent times, he is still finding a way to complete his franchise games. Dhoni is in good health and is a worshiper in Chennai.
Suresh Raina
Like Doni, Raina is a fan favorite in Chennai. He made 5368 runs in the IPL; only Virat Kohli has more. He missed just one CSK game over ten times before coming out of the 2020 season.
Dwayne Bravo
Bravo, the first player to take 500 wickets in the T20s, has several variations in his repertoire, including a slow-moving yorker, and has been the leading Dhoni player in death. In the 2013 IPL, he took 32 wickets in 18 games in a 7.95 economy. Alfonso Thomas is the only wicket-taker in the T20 - 33 league season.
R Ashwin
CSK let Ashwin go ahead of the 2018 season, but he is still one of the most wicket-takers. He has stopped tearing up his broken balls and carrom in Chepauk.
Deepak Chahar
Chahar was initially seen as a batsman but set out as a swimmer in Powerplay after being taken over by CSK at the 2018 auction. The following season he slowly rose to the streets of Kennai with a netball and a long back cut was added to its history.
Batting Stats
Most Runs: Suresh Raina: 5369 runs
Most Hundreds: Suresh Raina, Murali Vijay, Shane Watson: 2
Most Fifties: Suresh Raina: 50 50s
Fastest Fifty: Suresh Raina: 16 balls
Fastest Hundred: Murali Vijay: 46 balls
Best Strike Rate: David Hussey: 58.00
Most Sixes: Mahendra Singh Dhoni: 212
Most Fours: Suresh Raina: 481
Highest Individual Score: Murali Vijay: 127
Bowling Stats
Most Wickets: Dwayne Bravo: 124 wickets
Best Economy: Muttiah Muralitharan: 6.28
Best Bowling Figures: Ravindra Jadeja: 4-16-5
Best Bowling Average: Lungi Ngidi: 16.15
Multiple Maidens: Mohit Sharma: 4
Most 4 Wickets Hall: Ravindra Jadeja: 3
Most Hat-tricks: Shane Watson, Makahya Ntini and Lakmipathy Balaji: 1