An analysis of CSK's dominance in the IPL

An analysis of CSK’s dominance in the IPL: Chennai Super Kings have made it to the knockout stages of the IPL once again. CSK has dominated the IPL since its inception in the year 2008. They may have only won two editions so far but CSK are always installed as the favorites at the start of every new season. Such is the talent in their squad, coupled with Captain Cool MS Dhoni that CSK has been in the play offs of every season since 2008 and have been in five of the seven finals played so far in the IPL. The credit for this not only goes to the Captain or the team but also the management for taking the right decisions at the right time.

Chennai have always kept their group of core players together since the first season. While their astute captain has made the local players better with each passing season, CSK have made some smart buys in the auctions each year. Dwayne Bravo, Dwayne Smith, Brendon McCullum, Mike Hussey, Shadab Jakati, Mohit Sharma, R. Ashwin, Faf du Plessis are just some of the players who have invented or re-discovered themselves at Chennai Super Kings.

The franchise has always retained the core Indian players like Dhoni, Raina and Ashwin. In these three players they have a CWC winning captain and a proven world class finisher, a quality batsman and a wonderful spinner. The domestic players in the likes of Jakati, Ishwar Pandey, Badrinath and Negi have all provided with some decent performances under Dhoni. The foreign players have all been consistent performers for CSK. Bravo and Smith were once MI players who failed to deliver at MI but have flourished at CSK. Du Plessis, Bollinger, Oram, Hussey, McCullum, Albie Morkel, Murlitharan, Hayden and Hilfenhaus have all delivered commendable performances whenever they have played. Interestingly no CSK player has ever won the Man of the Series award in the IPL.

This domestic T20 giant from Chennai has played a total of 129 games in the IPL and won 78 of those with a winning percentage of 61.32. That is the highest number of wins and highest winning percentage for any IPL team. MSD has played a big role in that with his masterful captaincy, explosive finishing and brilliant wicket keeping. CSK is truly a machine and a giant of the IPL. Here’s a look at their season wise performances in brief.

2008 –

In the inaugural season of the IPL, CSK won a total of 9 matches out of the 16 they played. The ultimate under dogs-Rajasthan Royals, led by the legendary Shane Warne, created one of  the biggest upsets in the first season by becoming champions and beating CSK in the final where they were strong favorites. Their star performers for the 2008 season were Raina and Dhoni with the bat with 421 and 414 runs respectively. Parthiv Patel too chipped in with important runs. In bowling, Albie Morkel with 16 and Manpreet Gony with 17 wickets stood out.

2009 –

The second IPL season was played in foreign conditions in South Africa due to elections in India. CSK managed 8 wins out of 15 games played and were knocked out by RCB in the semi final at Johannesburg. Ashwin made his IPL debut in the same season but managed just 2 games then. Raina again was in fantastic form and managed 434 runs in the second season. But it was Mathew Hayden who stole the spot light with a tremendous campaign and finished with 572 runs at an average of 52. Balaji, Jakati, A. Morkel and Murlitharan all chipped in with wickets during the course of the season.

2010 –

This was the season when CSK finally managed to get their hands on the coveted IPL trophy and deservingly so. Chennai managed to win 9 out of the 16 matches played. They defeated MI in the final at the Wankhede stadium. This was the season when Murali Vijay gained instant popularity with his 56 ball 127 and CSK reached 246/5 which is still their highest score in the IPL. Vijay and Raina managed to score 458 and 520 runs respectively. Raina had now proven that he was one of the best batsmen of the shortest format of the game. Ashwin chipped in with important wickets and this is the season which put Ashwin in the spotlight for his invaluable performances. Murlitharan and Bollinger were key cogs in CSK’s first IPL triumph.

2011 –

CSK became the first team to retain the IPL trophy and to this day remains the only team who successfully defended their IPL crown. They managed 11 wins out of 16 in the 4th season of IPL. Murali Vijay’s 95 off 52 balls helped them beat RCB in the final. By this time, Badrinath had become a valuable member of the team with important runs in the two season when CSK were champions. Raina again was the chief protagonist with the bat for CSK. Mike Hussey, Murali Vijay and Dhoni were in splendid touch and managed important contributions in the tournament. Ashwin picked up 20 wickets and Bollinger managed 17 wickets as CSK dominated with both the bat and the ball. Albie Morkel(15 wickets) was once again dependable with the ball for the IPL champions of 2011.

2012 –

10 wins from 19 games were not enough as CSK were beaten by KKR in the final and CSK lost its grip off the IPL trophy. KKR had romped to the IPL title and Narine was in devastating form for the KKR in their first IPL success. Raina was once again the top scorer for CSK with 441 runs. Du Plessis, Vijay and Dhoni also contributed with the bat with respectable figures. But it was Dwayne Bravo’s all round performance that was worth remembering. Picked up in the auction by CSK, Bravo resurrected his IPL career at CSK by scoring 371 runs and picking up 15 wickets in the tournament.

2013 –

CSK was in red hot form in the 2013 edition and chalked up 12 victories out of 18 games played. They were finally out-done by MI in the final which was a farewell game for the Master Blaster – Sachin Tendulkar. Mike Hussey oozed class in every innings in the 2013 edition and managed a staggering 733 runs in the season. Raina wasn’t far behind with a contribution of 548 runs. Dwayne Bravo led the bowling attack superbly and picked up 32 wickets in the tournament. Mohit Sharma also chipped in with 20 wickets for CSK.

2014 –

The 2014 edition of the IPL was played in two legs – one being in the UAE and the business end of the tournament played in India. 10 wins out of 16 weren’t enough as CSK were dumped out by a KXIP team who were high on confidence and had a batsman who possessed incredibly destructive batting abilities in Glenn Maxwell. Maxwell had destroyed half the teams in the last edition with his out of the world batting contributions in the IPL. Dwayne Smith, Suresh Raina and Brendon McCullum laid solid foundations with the bat for the team throughout the IPL. They managed to score 566, 523 and 405 runs respectively. Mohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja were the chief wicket takers for the CSK with 23 and 19 wickets respectively.

2015 –

The season hasn’t concluded yet but CSK are again the favorites to get their hands on the IPL trophy for a record third time. They won 9 out of the 14 matches played so far. McCullum will be leaving the team and won’t play the knockout stage which might leave a big hole in the team as his contributions have been immense so far and he is also the top scorer for CSK in this year’s IPL. Raina has had an underwhelming season but has still managed 321 runs so far. Dwayne Bravo is still dominating with the ball and is currently their leading wicket taker with 20 strikes so far. Ashish Nehra has delivered some memorable performances this season.

CSK have dominated the IPL with some superb performances over the year. And they look on course to secure a third trophy this year.