Chennai Super Kings are the franchise team from Chennai owned by India Cements for US $91 million for a period of ten years from 2008. They are captained by Mahendra Singh Dhoni and coached by Stephen Fleming (though this may change during the players re-auction this year). They are regarded as the most consistent IPL team and why not. Don’t the statistics (From wikipedia) below speak for themselves?
2008 Indian Premier League
* Runners-Up Of The Tournament
* Fair Play Awards Winner
* Highest Total Of The Tournament(240/5)
* 2008 CLT20 participant
* Most Expensive Player Of The Tournament(Ms Dhoni)
* 2nd Tournament Centurion(Michael Hussey)
* 1st Tournament hat-trick(Lakshmipaty Balaji)
* 3rd Tournament hat-trick(Makhaya Ntini)
2009 Indian Premier League
* Semi-finalists Of The Tournament
* Most Expensive Player Of The Tournament(Andrew Flintoff)
* Orange Cap Player Of The Tournament(Matthew Hayden)
2010 Indian Premier League
* CHAMPIONS of the tournament
* Fair Play Awards Winner
* Highest Total Of The Tournament(246/5)
* 2010 CLT20 participant & finalists
* 3rd Tournament Centurion(Murali Vijay)
* IPL AWARDS:Best Fielder(Suresh Raina)
* IPL AWARDS:Most Economical Bowler(Ravichndran Ashwin)
2010 Champions Trophy
* CHAMPIONS of the tournament
* Golden Bat: Murali Vijay
* Golden Bowl: Ravichandran Ashwin
Ok for those people who say statistics don’t matter, the simple fact is that Chennai has been by far the most consistent IPL team till date. Yes, their team comprising Hayden, Vijay, Hussey, Badrinath, Raina, Dhoni, Srikkanth Anirudha, Flintoff, Dougie Bollinger, Muralitharan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Balaji, Kemp, Joginder Sharma, Thilan Thushara, George Bailey, Albie Morkel, Manpreet Gony, Jacob Oram, Sudeep Tyagi, Shadab Jakati, Thissara Perera, Makhaya Ntini (Some who have played always and others who have played a couple of times) may not be that good as others, but it still is a very potent line – up.
Who says only foreigners are the heart and soul of an IPL team? Vijay’s swashbuckling batting, Ashwin’s carrom ball, Raina’s batting form, MSD’s captaincy, Balaji’s accuracy, Jakati’s wicket taking ability especially in IPL 2 are some of the standout Indian performers. Chennai’s bowling was struggling in IPL 3. But as soon as Bollinger came back, he started destroying the opponents with his fantastic bowling.
Many have said that this is all because MSD’s luck is very good. Many have pointed out about CSK’s inconsistency in IPLs though they still managed to reach semifinals of all. Many have questioned MSD’s decision of making Ashwin bowl the final over against Victoria. And there are also a large number who have questioned MSD’s ability to bat at the death. But then critics won’t be critics if they question right? If they see and start analysing statistics, then they surely won’t be called critics?
Many a time, against Kings XI Punjab at Dharamshala in IPL 3 when CSK was battling for survival, against Mumbai Indians in the finals of IPL 3 when Pollard went on a rampage, against Warriors in the final of the Champions League T20 when Davey Jacobs was on fire, CSK has been in the dumps, but they have always had the knack of coming back from such situations. Some may call it luck while others may say it was their determination to win which made that happen. That’s what champion sides are made up of, isn’t it? Even Ashwin showed what he’s made of after coming back from his 23 run super over thrashing against Victoria to down Warriors and send out Victoria from the Champions League.
CSK have shown everyone that an IPL team also has it in them to win the Champions League. And NO, they aren’t a team of mercenaries! Its time to celebrate their position as the best club team in the world!
CSK KO WHISTLE PODU!!!
PS – Though the team will change this year, their legacy will always live despite the fact whoever criticises Dhoni or any other players for their exploits for CSK or for India for that matter!