Chennai Super Kings-CSK

Chennai Super Kings is the most successful side in the Indian Premier League, having won the title on three occasions. The Men in Yellow have qualified for the playoff stages on all the nine seasons, in which they have been part of the league. They went on win the title in 2010, 2011 and 2018. Chennai Super Kings is led by former Indian skipper MS Dhoni and coached by former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming.

Chennai Super Kings was brought by India cements for a whopping $91 million. The Chennai franchise was the fourth most expensive team after Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Deccan Chargers. Meanwhile, India cement went on to acquire the right for the franchise for the first 10 years. N Srinivasan, who was the former ICC Chairman was the owner of the Chennai Super Kings.
Team History
Chennai Super Kings went on to bid for big players like MS Dhoni, Matthew Hayden, Stephen Fleming (who later went to become their coach), Muttiah Muralitharan and Michael Hussey in 2008. India’s captain at that time MS Dhoni was appointed as the skipper of CSK. Dhoni had recently led India to World T20 glory in 2007 and received the accolades. Meanwhile, Kepler Wessels who is one of the few players who has represented two International teams was appointed as the head coach.

Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni was the costliest player of the inaugural season as he brought for a whopping price of $1.5 million. The Chennai franchise went on to make their IPL debut on 19 April against Kings XI Punjab at Mohali.

MS Dhoni-led had gone on to win their first match by a margin of 33 runs. CSK had scored 240 runs after batting first. In fact, this was the highest tally of the tournament. Furthermore, the Men in Yellow went on to better their own score in 2010.

2008 Season:

Chennai Super Kings finished at the third place in the maiden season of the IPL. They went on to win eight matches out of the 14 group matches, to make their place in the playoff stages. MS Dhoni’s men went on to defeat Kings XI Punjab in the second semifinal. CSK won the match convincingly as they won by nine wickets and with 31 balls to spare.

However, Chennai Super Kings could cross the line against Rajasthan Royals in the final of the IPL 2008. Rajasthan Royals were led by former Australian legendary spinner Shane Warne who took his team to three wickets win.

Chennai Super Kings were able to post 164 after they were put into bat by Shane Warne. Royals were able to get to target on the last ball of the match as the match went down to the wire.

Yusuf Pathan was the leading run-getter in the final of IPL 2008. The combative right-hander went on to score 56 runs off just 39 balls. Thus, the right-hander was also awarded the Man of the match. Meanwhile, Shane Watson was adjudged as the Player of the tournament for his consistent performance with both bat and ball.

For Chennai Super Kings, Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni scored 421 and 414 runs respectively.

2009 Season:

The two top teams of the first season Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals had qualified to play in the Champions League Twenty20. However, the tournament could not start due to Mumbai attacks. Therefore, both of these franchises went on to receive a compensation of $5 million.

Meanwhile, Kiwis veteran batsman Stephen Fleming decided to call it a day on his career. Thus, the southpaw batsman took over the coaching mantle from Kepler Wessel. On the other hand, the second season of the IPL was hosted by South Africa, as there were general elections in India.

For the second season of the league, Chennai Super Kings went to bid for England talisman all-rounder Andrew Flintoff. The linchpin was taken for a whopping price of $1.55 million, which made him the costliest player of the season. Royal Challengers Bangalore also bought Kevin Pietersen for the same price.

However, the deal was not a happy one for the Chennai franchise as Andrew Flintoff could only play three matches. The English all-rounder suffered a knee injury which ruled him out of action for the entire season.

Furthermore, Super Kings also suffered a big blow as Michael Hussey decided to skip the second edition in order to prepare for the 2009 Ashes series.

Meanwhile, Chennai Super Kings were able to finish as the second best team in the points table. The Men in Yellow won eight matches out of the 14 with one of their matches ending in No Result. Thus, Super Kings had 17 points in the points table as they were behind table toppers, Delhi Daredevils.

However, Chennai Super Kings journey in the IPL 2009 was ended by Royal Challengers Bangalore who beat them by six wickets in the second semifinal. CSK opener Matthew Hayden went on to top score in the IPL 2009 as the southpaw opener scored 572 runs in 12 matches. The combative left-hander scored five fifties in the second season and scored his runs at an average of 52 and strike rate of 144.81. Thus, Hayden was the winner of Orange cap (which is given to the highest run-getter) and was also awarded the Player of the tournament.  Suresh Raina scored 434 runs for CSK in 14 IPL matches in 2009.

Deccan Chargers were the winners of the 2009 season.

2010 Season:

Chennai Super Kings finished with seven wins in the group stages along with three other sides. However, Super Kings were able to make their place into the final four as they had a better net run-rate.

Men in Yellow were able to win the semifinal clash against defending Deccan Chargers by a big margin of 38 runs. Super Kings could only manage 142 in their allotted 20 overs. Subsequently, they were able to skittle out Chargers for 104 runs. Doug Bollinger was the chief destroyer of the Chargers innings as the southpaw Australian scalped four wickets and conceded only 13 runs in his four overs.

Super Kings went on to defeat arch-rivals Mumbai Indians by 22 runs in the final of the IPL 2010, to be crowned as the champions for the first time. Suresh Raina was the star of the show for the Chennai team as the left-hander scored a quickfire knock of 57 runs of 35 balls. The southpaw batsman scored three fours and as many sixes in his blistering innings. Hence, Raina was awarded the Man of the Match for his fine knock to help Chennai post 168 in 20 overs. However, Mumbai Indians could not get over the line despite Sachin Tendulkar’s knock of 48 runs. The Master Blaster was the player of the tournament in IPL 2010. Sachin also top scored in the season with 620 runs.

Suresh Raina was instrumental in the success of the Chennai team as he scored 520 runs whereas their opener Murali Vijay amassed 458 runs in 15 matches.

Chennai Super Kings went on to repeat their form in the Champions League Twenty20. MS Dhoni-led side became the first IPL team to triumph in CLT20. Men in Yellow defeated Chevrolet Warriors by eight wickets. Murali Vijay was adjudged the Man of the match for his fine knock of 58 runs in the final. Furthermore, the flamboyant batsman also won the golden bat award. Ravichandran Ashwin was the Player of the tournament for taking most wickets in CLT20. However, Matthew Hayden decided to put on the shutters on IPL career after the 2010 season.

2011 Season:

Chennai Super Kings became the only first side to successfully defend their title in IPL 2011. Two teams were added in IPL 2011, as Pune Warriors India and Kochin Tuskers made their debuts in IPL. Meanwhile, the Indian Premier League Governing Council declared that one franchise should be able to retain four players ahead of the season.

Consequently, the Chennai franchise decided to retain their skipper MS Dhoni, deputy Suresh Raina, Murali Vijay and all-rounder Albie Morkel. These four players were retained for a total amount of $4.5 million. At IPL 2011 auction, Chennai Super Kings went on to buy players like Michael Hussey, Doug Bollinger, Ravichandran Ashwin and Subramanian Badrinath.

However, CSK didn’t have an ideal start as they lost three matches out of the first five games. Subsequently, the defending champions were able to make a solid comeback. They won the next seven matches from their eight games to bounce back in style. Thus, they occupied the second position in the points table after winning nine matches out of 14.

Chennai Super Kings won the first qualifier against Royal Challengers by six wickets to make their place into the final for the third time. They met Royal Challengers Bangalore again the final of the season after Anil Kumble-led side defeated Mumbai Indian in the second qualifier by 43 runs.

CSK was able to repeat their magic against Royal Challengers to win the IPL title on the trot. The Men in Yellow obliterated RCB by a gargantuan margin of 58 runs. Chennai’s opener Murali Vijay for the star of the show in the final as the flamboyant right-hander scored a fluent knock of 95 runs off just 52 balls, which helped him claim Man of the match award in the final. Michael Hussey also come to the party with a fine knock of 63 runs. Hence, the Chennai openers gave a perfect start to their team as they added 159 runs in 15 overs. Consequently, CSK posted a mammoth total of 205 runs in 20 overs.

However, RCB could not deliver with the bat as they succumbed to the pressure of a big score. RCB could only manage 147 runs in their quota of 20 overs. Ravichandran Ashwin scalped three wickets and gave away only 16 runs in his four overs.

Michael Hussey, Murali Vijay and Suresh Raina were all instrumental in the triumph of the Chennai side. All these batsmen scored more than 400 runs to take their side all the way. CSK skipper MS Dhoni also scored 392 runs in the season.

On the other hand, Ravichandran Ashwin scalped 20 wickets whereas Doug Bollinger took 17 wickets in the fourth season of the extravagant league. Albie Morkel went to pick up 15 wickets in the Twenty20 league. However, Chennai Super Kings could not deliver the goods in Champions League T20. They won a solitary match out of the four group matches to finish at the bottom of their group. Thus, they were kicked out.

2012 Season.

In IPL 2012, Chennai Super Kings brought the services of India’s all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja. The southpaw all-rounder was bought for a whopping margin of $2 million. However, the Chennai Super Kings could only win five matches out of the first 12 fixtures. Therefore, their future in IPL 2012 hanged by a thin thread.

Although, CSK once again made a fine return as they went on to win the next three matches out of the four games. Ergo, they were able to secure their play-off place after winning eight matches. Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kings XI Punjab also won eight matches each. However, CSK had a better net run rate which secured their final four places.

Chennai won the first the eliminator against Mumbai Indians by 38 runs to make their place in the second qualifier. CSK also won the second qualifier against Delhi Daredevils by a colossal margin of 86 runs to make their place into the final of the final for the fourth time.

However, Chennai could not complete their hat-trick of titles as they went on to lose the final against Kolkata Knight Riders. Chennai had made an above par score of 190 runs in their 20 overs in the final of the IPL 2012. Suresh Raina had scored a rocking knock of 73 runs off just 38 balls, albeit Raina’s innings went in vain.

Manvinder Bisla played a brilliant knock of 89 runs off just 48 balls to help Kolkata get close to the target. Jacques Kallis also played a staggering inning of 69 runs off only 49 balls to help Kolkata become the IPL champions for the first time.

Suresh Raina was once again among the top 10 run-scorer as the left-hander scored 441 runs in 19 matches. However, CSK once again could come with the goods in the CLT20 as they managed two and two losses at the group stages.

2013 Season:

In 2013, Chennai decided to add more power to their bowling line-up. They signed five foreign and as many Indian bowlers. CSK ended at the top of the points table after 11 wins from 16 matches and also had the best net run-rate. In fact, this was the first time when CSK had ended at the numero uno position in the points table.

Chennai locked horns with Mumbai Indians in the first qualifier. They defeated Mumbai by a mammoth margin of 48 runs to once again make their way in the final of the tourney. Suresh Raina and Michael Hussey were the architects of CSK win with knocks of 86 and 82 runs respectively.

Meanwhile, it was a different story all together when CSK once again met the same opponents Mumbai Indians. The things changed upside down as Mumbai Indians won the final by 23 runs. Thus, Rohit Sharma was able to win his first title as Mumbai Indians skipper.

Mumbai made 148 runs after batting first. However, Chennai found themselves catching up in the game as they were tottering at 38-6. CSK skipper MS Dhoni played a valiant knock of an unbeaten fifty. Chennai opening batsman Michael Hussey got the Orange cap for top-scoring with 733 runs at an average of 52.35. Suresh Raina was once consistent as he scored 518 runs. Dwayne Bravo had a sublime season as he took 32 wickets to claim the Purple cap.

2014 season:

Chennai decided to retain MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Dwayne Bravo. Thus, they were left with the purse of INR 21 Crores. At the auction, Chennai went on to buy players like  Brendon McCullum, Dwayne Smith, Faf du Plessis, Ashish Nehra, Mohit Sharma. The first seven league matches of IPL 2014 were scheduled to be held in the UAE as the general elections collided with the tournament.

In the 2014 season, Chennai Super Kings won nine matches to end up at the third place in the points. Hence, they were able again able to secure their play-off stages place. Therefore, they met Mumbai Indians, who finished at the fourth place in the eliminator contest.

Chennai was able to get the better off the reigning champions as they won by seven wickets after chasing 174 runs convincingly by seven wickets and also had eight balls to spare. However, the MS Dhoni-led team could make their place into the final as their journey in the tournament was impeded by Kings XI Punjab in the second qualifier. Punjab defeated two-champions by 24 runs

Kolkata Knight Riders went on to win the IPL 2014 by three wickets to bag their second IPL title. CSK was able to take their revenge against KKR as the former defeated the latter in the CLT20 final by eight wickets.

Dwayne Smith and Suresh Raina scored more than 500 runs to help their team reach the final three of the competition. Brendon McCullum also collected 405 runs for Chennai.

Mohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin were the major contributors in the bowling department as they got 23, 19 and 16 wickets respectively.

2015 Season: 

In the 2015, Chennai decided to get back the services of their talisman batsman Michael Hussey for INR 1.5 Crores. Chennai Super Kings finished the points table at the summit point as they won nine matches out of the 14. CSK lost in the first qualifier against Mumbai Indians by 25 runs. However, they went on to win the triller against Royal Challengers Bangalore by three wickets in the second qualifier.

Although, the Chennai side once again could not crack the code to beat Mumbai Indians in the final of the tournament. Mumbai won by a huge margin of 41 runs to claim their second IPL title.

Brendon McCullum, Faf du Plessis, Dwayne Smith, Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni all scored more than 350 runs for the Chennai side. Dwayne Bravo was once again able to bag the Purple cap as he took 26 wickets in 17 matches whereas Ashish Nehra took 22 wickets in 16 matches.

2016 and 2017: Suspended due to spot-fixing.

2018 season:

It was an emphatic return after spending two years on the sidelines. In fact, the people turn around in thousand just to catch CSK players in practice at their home ground of Chepauk stadium. Chennai decided to retain their skipper MS Dhoni, vice-captain Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja.

Furthermore, Chennai got back the services of Dwayne Bravo and Faf du Plessis through Right to Match card. Chennai Super Kings made an ecstatic return as they won against Mumbai Indians by just one wicket. Dwayne Bravo and Kedar Jadhav were able to take them through to the finishing line.

Similarly, Chennai was able to win another nail-biter against Kolkata Knight Riders as they received a brisk knock of a fifty from Sam Billings.

Chennai finished at the second place in the points table after the conclusion of the group stages. MS Dhoni-led side won nine matches to take their second place. Subsequently, they defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad, who had topped the points table, in the first qualifier by two wickets. CSK once again locked horns with the Orange army in the final of the competition.

In fact, CSK had no issues to defeat SRH for the fourth time in the season after beating them by eight wickets and nine balls to spare. Shane Watson showed his experience worth as he scored a magnificent hundred. The right-hander scored 117 off just 57 balls to take Chennai to their third IPL title. Additionally, this was Watson’s second hundred of the season and it could not have come at a better time than the finals. Therefore, Shane Watson was awarded the Man of the match.

Ambati Rayudu and Shane Watson were instrumental in the success of their team as they 602 and 555 runs respectively. Furthermore, MS Dhoni batted at the top of his game as he scored 455 runs with the highest average of 75.83. Dhoni’s deputy Suresh Raina also scored 445 runs in the IPL 2018. Shardul Thakur and Dwayne Bravo scalped 16 and 14 wickets respectively.

In fact, no one was banking on CSK after they had picked an experienced side. However, MS Dhoni’s experienced army showed why experience cannot be bought in the market. Thus, it was a white-knuckle comeback from the most loved franchise in the Indian Premier League.

Here is Chennai Super Kings squad for the IPL 2019:

Batsmen
Allrounders
Spinners
Pacers

R Gaikwad*
R Jadeja
Mitchell Santner
Mohit Sharma*

MS Dhoni (wk)
David Willey
Imran Tahir
Lungi Ngidi

Suresh Raina
Dwayne Bravo
Harbhajan Singh
Deepak Chahar

Faf du Plessis
Shane Watson
Karn Sharma
KM Asif

M Vijay
Kedar Jadhav

Shardul Thakur

Sam Billings (wk)
C Bishnoi

Monu Kumar

Ambati Rayudu

Dhruv Shorey

N Jagadeesan (wk)

Follow Other Teams of IPL:

Mumbai Indian | Royal Challengers Bangalore | Kolkata Knight Riders | Rajasthan Royals | Sunrisers Hyderabad | Kings XI Punjab | Delhi Capitals