CSK and a Chepauk winning tale as old as time

May 23, a packed house at Chepauk, and a place in the final on the line. The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are up against the Gujarat Titans (GT) – a side they have never beaten in the IPL. The last time CSK played a playoff game in Chennai (IPL 2019), they lost to the Mumbai Indians and had to then beat the Delhi Capitals to enter the final.

Prior to Qualifier 1, CSK had a win percentage of about 70% at Chepauk. Over the years, this has been a fortress. This year, not quite. Of the seven league games that were played here, the four-time champions only won four. The odds, thus, were stacked against Chennai.

So…it is only natural that they end up winning, and making yet another IPL final. This is a tale as old as time, and frankly, it should not surprise anyone anymore.

What has also been a prevalent feature throughout their IPL journey is the way they almost always managed to make the whole greater than the sum of the parts. This might sound like a broken record but pound for pound, player for player, there might be several teams that look better on paper than CSK.

But CSK and MS Dhoni find a way. That only comes about because they are so clear in what needs to be done, and because they trust and back players until they figure out what is exactly being asked of them.

CSK backed several players and they repaid their faith

Before Tuesday, there were a couple of question marks over some of their players. Ambati Rayudu had not struck form, Moeen Ali had looked a little out of sync with the bat and Maheesh Theekshana, expected to be their trump card in Chennai, had not had a very inspiring season.

Each of those individuals ended up playing pivotal roles against GT. When you glance at the scorecards, you will probably look at Ruturaj Gaikwad’s half-century and Devon Conway’s 40-run knock (albeit rather painstaking) as the two innings that set up the game for CSK.

Look closer, though, and the cameos that Moeen, Rayudu and Ravindra Jadeja produced were just as important, if not more. They combined for 48 runs in 29 balls.

Under normal circumstances, that might not seem many, especially considering all of them batted at the death. But on a pitch that was gripping, it was enough to take CSK to a par total, and the sort of score where they could squeeze the game later on.

CSK, of course, deserve credit for retaining Moeen and Rayudu in their first-choice side. Neither has set the world alight with the bat, but the franchise have always felt that they are capable of making an impact when it matters most.

Jadeja’s case is also quite interesting, for he has not been as belligerent as he can be with the bat. This season is also his redemption season, considering all that happened in 2022. When Conway departed in the 16th over, Moeen or Dhoni could have easily walked in. But they sent Jadeja, and he ensured that CSK got up to over 170, with help from those around him.

An hour or so later, Jadeja was doing what he does best at Chepauk. He was spinning the ball around corners and was strangling the opposition. Dasun Shanaka fell first after being capsized by the dot-ball pressure. And then, Jadeja ripped out David Miller with a ball that spun back sharply.

Jadeja inflicting damage at Chepauk is not new. What was happening at the other end, though, is what CSK would hope becomes a prevalent feature moving forward, and what they have longed to see this season.

Theekshana, ever since he was picked up by the franchise at the mega-auction, has seemed a bowler with a very high ceiling. Mystery spinners, after all, are not ubiquitous. The expectations, however, were not dovetailing with the performances.

On Tuesday, it did.

While Theekshana deserves credit for turning up in a clutch game for his side, a pat on the back must also be reserved for the four-time winners, considering they stuck by him when it would have been very easy to include someone as pedigreed as Mitchell Santner at Theekshana’s expense.

At the end of the day, the narrative, of course, will be about how CSK won again at Chepauk, put up just enough runs on the board, strangled a strong batting unit with spin and how they now find themselves in their 10th IPL final (in 14 seasons). While that is pretty astonishing in itself, it is only made possible because of what happens behind the scenes.

A detailed, chronicled account of what CSK are actually made of, is another article (or perhaps book) altogether. If you were to sum it up quickly using three elements, though, it would be backing players, trusting them to do their job and ensuring that the whole is always greater than the sum of the parts.

CSK, after the kind of season they had in 2022, were not supposed to be here.

When they lost their marquee 2023 signing to injury before their third IPL game, their hopes were supposed to take a hit. When Mukesh Choudhary, their standout bowler from IPL 2022 was ruled out, they were supposed to rue his absence. When Moeen and Rayudu hit a submerged log, and their batting dependency transferred to Ajinkya Rahane and Shivam Dube – two players who many felt were past their best – they were supposed to huff and puff.

But here they are. Packing their bags to go to Ahmedabad in what is the final destination of this awesome journey. Along the way, they have rekindled a tale as old as time – contesting a crucial game at Chepauk and coming up trumps.

It should not surprise anyone anymore actually. But it still does, just because of how often they are able to recreate it. That is the magic of CSK. That is what thousands turn up at Chepauk to see. And that is what makes them the franchise they are.