Chennai Super Kings, like in their name, are Super Kings. Chennai reached 10 finals out of 14 seasons. They won against defending champions Gujrat Titans in qualifier one of IPL on Tuesday to reach the record-keeping 10th final.
Chennai Super Kings is also known as the most consistent franchise ever of IPL. They have reached out to knockouts 11 outta 14 times.
The mantra of Dhoni
The face and the reason behind the success of the Chennai Super Kings is unquestionably Mahindra Singh Dhoni.
Mahindra Singh Dhoni known as the heart of Chennai Super Kings was bought for Rs. 9.5 crore in the inaugural season. Surely worth more than the whole IPL for CSK’s lovers. Dhoni was already a sensation in India after his stint of winning the first-ever t20 world cup in 2007, too after beating their arch-rival Pakistan in the final.
2008-2009 heartbreaking seasons and two trophies
Chennai Super Kings lost the final of the inaugural IPL on the last ball. One run was needed to win for Rajasthan Royals on the last ball. Dhoni was keeping his trademark cool, Balaji ran in to bowl, and Sohail Tanvir pulled it off for a single. It was a heartbreak for Chennai Super Kings.
They also lost the semi-final in 2009. It was like salt in the wound, but Super Kings soon emerged like a lion in their logo by winning the IPL of 2010 and 2011. Winning two back-to-back tournaments gave them a reputation of being undefeatable.
Dhoni once again became a national hero in India, this time by winning the ultimate tournament, the One Day World Cup. However, things were not going Chennai’s way. From their last title in 2011, they continued to struggle in the playoffs. Then a disaster happened that no one could have ever anticipated.
Ban and Scandals
In May 2013, the son-in-law of the Chennai Super Kings owner was arrested on charges of placing bets on IPL matches. This capture led to the chains of investigations. Eventually, On 14 July 2015, Chennai Super Kings was banned for two seasons of IPL. Ah, this news was like a shot of bullets into the chests of Super Kings fans.
The Comeback
As they say, The best thing about time is that it passes. In 2018, Chennai Super Kings marked their return. The wave of joy amongst the fans of Super Kings was huge, it was as high as it can get. It was reported that even in practice seasons over ten thousand fans came into the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, the home ground of Super Kings. They started their campaign by defeating Mumbai Indians by one wicket, courtesy of an unbeaten 68 off 30 balls from Dwayne Bravo. Chennai Super Kings finished second in the league stage. Then they won Qualifier 1 and The Final both against Sunrisers Hyderabad to take the IPL trophy for the third time.
Effect of COVID
In 2019, they reached the final as defending champions. Fans wanted them to replay 2010 and 2011. In this world, every day is not Sunday, Mumbai Indians rode absolute luck, they defeated Super Kings by one run in the Final. In 2020, IPL was transferred to the UAE due to the pandemic of COVID-19, unfortunately, Super Kings didn’t make it into the playoffs that year.
In 2021, Half of the tournament was staged in India and the other half was placed in UAE due to the pandemic. Again Super Kings began showing their intentions of taking another trophy in their bag. They won a record 5 consecutive matches in the group stage, placing them second in the points table. This meant they had to play qualifier one, in qualifier one other team was Delhi Capitals, and they stormed into the final by beating them. They won convincingly against KKR. This meant the fourth trophy in the Super Kings cabinet.
Jadeja’s stint
In 2022, Dhoni initially retired from the captaincy, and their star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was nominated as their new captain. This announcement backfired when CSK lost 6 out of their first 8 matches under Jadeja’s captaincy. Chennai went out of the race for playoffs for the second time since the commencement of the IPL.
Rise in 2023
IPL 2023, a new wave of old Chennai came back, when Dhoni returned as captain. Super Kings positioned second in the group stage. In Qualifier One, they won against the Gujarat Titans, Which means they are yet another final. The final is just another thing for Super Kings, I mean it is the 10th final for them. What an achievement. Will they win this time and also match the record of 5 titles?
