The ball floated in the air towards A.B. de Villiers, bounced and spun down the leg side past his attempted reverse sweep, and the ’keeper whipped off the bails with his usual incredible speed. The stumper — also his team’s captain — made subtle adjustments to the field, arms waving or rotating to send his message across, narrowing down angles. On this day, it was his finger spinners who strangled the opposition — the wrist spinner had been left out.
Later, under the floodlights, Mahendra Singh Dhoni used his powerful wrists and bat speed to bludgeon the ball over the fence, and he sprinted like a hare between the wickets.
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It was just another day in the office for the Chennai Super Kings captain — against the Royal Challengers Bangalore in Pune on this occasion — who remains tactically suave, electric with the gloves and brutal with the bat.
Dhoni, incredibly fit at 36, encapsulates the spirit of CSK. It’s a lively, rollicking side with a sense of adventure, an outfit that can fight its way through challenges, breeze past its adversaries. The immensely popular team is roaring along in IPL-11, mowing down opponents with its batting might and varied bowling attack.
Its charismatic captain lends CSK a pan-India popularity. And this has been a season where the fans — a sea of yellow wherever the team goes — have breached security barriers and stormed arenas seeking Dhoni’s “blessings.” Ahead of this edition of the IPL, the team’s practice sessions in Chennai attracted around 10,000 spectators, and there were constant chants of “Dhoni, Dhoni.”
In the wilderness
In its return to the star-studded tournament after a two-year suspension, CSK has shown much heart and belief in itself. It had gone through a harrowing period when its very existence as an IPL franchise had seemed under threat following the betting scandal in 2015. The team was at the centre of the controversy as it travelled to Kolkata for the final that year against the Mumbai Indians. CSK lost that match, but the team lived on.
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During its period of isolation, the franchise kept itself going. Its talent scouts were active, junior tournaments were organised and plans were put in place for its return in 2018.
After all, CSK has been the most consistent and successful IPL franchise, winning the tournament twice, reaching the final another two times and making the play-offs on a further three occasions. That’s in addition to its two titles in the now-defunct Champions League Twenty20.
Old hands
The retention of Dhoni — his name is synonymous with CSK — Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja meant the franchise was not without familiar names for the 2018 IPL edition. Another old soldier, Dwayne Bravo, was also brought back. But when CSK purchased Shane Watson, the seemingly over-the-hill Australian all-rounder; off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, his best days behind him, and ageing leg-spinner Imran Tahir, the franchise came under considerable fire for its conservative thinking in a format where the young often hold sway. After the auction, CSK was mocked by numerous critics, some dubbing it “Dad’s Army.” And there were many who said the team was an advertisement for 30-plus pills.
That was not all. The Cauvery agitation in Chennai meant CSK could only play one game at its bastion, the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, winning a thriller against the Kolkata Knight Riders. The attack had been picked keeping the spin-friendly surfaces at Chepauk in mind. Once CSK’s matches were moved to Pune, the side had to rework its strategy and mindset. Home was now away from home.
CSK was up against it as the season began. It had spent two years away from the competition, and its choices at the auction had been trolled. Then it went on to win eight of its first 12 games. It lost just once at home (at the time of writing).
Bucking the odds
The team bucked the odds and reinvented itself, much like what skipper Dhoni had done earlier to expand his off-side play. And many of its old soldiers, repaying the belief shown in them, have rolled back the years. Bravo has sent down yorkers and slower deliveries with precision and batted with power and verve at the death. Watson’s century against the Rajasthan Royals was a blistering effort; he has muscled the ball around this tournament, and his useful seamers have abetted his performance.
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Harbhajan has operated with control and craft, bringing all his experience to the fore. He has varied his pace and trajectory, used the crease and not provided width to the batsmen. Crucially, the wily off-spinner has managed to extricate both spin and bounce.
A side with all-rounders and multidimensional cricketers, CSK has options in bowling, depth in batting and an overall balance that is hard to find. And like most successful sides, it has several match-winners.
Rayudu’s heroics
Ambati Rayudu has been a revelation with his fluid yet explosive stroke-play, be it jumping down the track for big hits or rocking back for cuts and pulls. He has been the floater in the batting order, able to build partnerships and take the game away from the opposition. And the mercurial Raina—such a valuable player in this format—has come up with some delightful cameos.
But CSK’s bowling is not without its issues. Its young domestic pacemen, despite glimpses of promise, have been erratic (though the pacey K.M. Asif has shown potential). In this context, the addition of the fast and consistent Lungi Ngidi has given the attack another dimension.
Jadeja’s bowling form has been patchy, but the left-arm spinner did deliver a match-winning performance against RCB — a screaming armer that dismissed Virat Kolhi.
And in the humdingers — CSK has featured in several — Dhoni’s composure under mounting pressure and his ability to pick the moments and bowlers to strike have been clinching factors.
Given that many of its players are no longer young — ageing heroes do give the side an element of romance — CSK is not a great fielding unit. But, like Dhoni points out, it can be a “safe” one.
Despite its doubters, the spirit of the Super Kings has shone through this season. The Men in Yellow are back in business.
And the team has made the play-offs, once again, roaring along much like the ‘Whistle Podu’ Express that transports its exuberant fans from Chennai to Pune.
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