IPL 2018: 3 close encounters where CSK emerged victorious

The Chennai Super Kings returning to the IPL after two long years created a lot of buzz in the IPL community. CSK were one of the most decorated teams in the IPL before they were discontinued for two years.

It was soon auction time for the 11th edition of the Indian Premier League. The Chennai-based franchise had a rather strange auction as they went on to pick players on the “wrong side of 30s”. As it turned out, they only had one capped Indian pace bowler.

Despite all that, MS Dhoni led his team wonderfully as CSK emerged as one of the top teams of the competition. The “older” players showed the value of experience and silenced all their critics.

They didn’t have it easy though as they faced some stiff competition from their opponents. But, as all champion sides do, CSK fought the odds to win the extremely close encounters. The slide looks at three close encounters where the Super Kings had the last laugh.

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#3 MI vs CSK, Match 1

The stage was set for the grand first match of IPL 2018. The reigning champions MI were all set to take on the returning CSK. Though the match was being hosted at the Wankhede, there was enough yellow in the crowd, for one to confuse it for the Chepauk.

As most sides do in Mumbai, CSK won the toss and elected to bowl first. Handy knocks from Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav and Krunal Pandya took MI to 165. Watson picked up 2 for 29 in his quota of 4 overs. Bravo and Chahar too bowled well, giving away just 39 runs in the 7 overs between them.

The CSK innings never got going and the scorecard read 118-8 after 16.3 overs. Mayank Markande had spun a web around Super Kings’ batting unit with his variations. A win seemed inevitable for the home side but, there was a surprise in store.

DJ Bravo smashed 20 runs in both the 18th and 19th over of the innings but was undone by a shortish Bumrah delivery. He walked back to the dugout after scoring 68 off just 30 deliveries. Kedar Jadhav, who was taken off the field after getting badly injured, returned to the crease with 7 needed off 6.

Mustafizur Rahaman bowled three dot deliveries in a row as pressure built on Chennai. As Jadhav would later reveal, Fizz got too predictable with his length and the Pune batsman scooped the fourth delivery over short fine leg for six. With just one needed, Kedar Jadhav punched the next ball through covers to seal it for CSK.

The winning team burst into celebrations. MS Dhoni, as one would expect him to be, remained expressionless and the CSK fans were a sight to watch as they rejoiced. All in all, it was a great start to the IPL and a clear message was sent out- “CSK have arrived”.

#2 CSK vs KKR, Match 5

CSK returned to their fortress-the Chepauk, after two years in the fifth match of the tournament. No words would be enough to describe the reception that the home side received. Thousands of supporters thronged in and it was hard to spot any other color than yellow at the M.A.Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. After winning the toss, CSK opted to field first.

An absolutely destructive innings from Andre Russell propelled KKR to 202-6 after they were struggling at 89-5. The Jamaican hit 11 maximums and just the one four in his 36 ball innings. This destruction had the Chennai crowd silenced.

Though it wasn’t too late before the crowd found their voices back. Shane Watson and Ambati Rayudu got CSK off to a flier as they scored 75-1 in the powerplay. All of a sudden, the CSK lineup started searching for answers against KKR’s bowling. After Shane Watson’s wicket, the first boundary came after 34 balls. Clearly, CSK were the team under pressure.

Chennai needed 75 runs in the last six overs. Billings’ attack in the 15th over reduced the equation to 58 off 30. Just when CSK started to pull things back, Karthik caught Dhoni off Chawla. There was pin-drop silence at the Chepauk.

Billings continued his fine innings before getting caught at long-off. CSK needed 17 off the last over. Some loose deliveries from Vinay Kumar and some excellent finishing skills from Jadeja and Bravo took CSK home on the penultimate delivery of the match.

The crowd erupted and they were deafening. There could not have been a better return for the Super Kings to the Chepauk. The "whistle podu" commenced and it was a night for the fans to remember.

#1 RCB vs CSK, Match 24

MS Dhoni continued his love affair with the toss as he managed to win another one against Virat Kohli’s RCB at Bangalore. AB de Villiers’ masterclass and late flourishes from Mandeep Singh and Washington Sundar took RCB to an imposing total of 205-8.

In reply, CSK were languishing at 74-4 after 9 overs. Rayudu was well set and had MS Dhoni for his company. CSK required 100 runs off the last 7 overs and according to popular perception, CSK had left it for too late. As you would expect from CSK, they didn’t quite believe in the popular perception as Dhoni and Rayudu smashed 19 runs off the 14th over.

The big overs kept coming, but still CSK neeed 30 off 12 with Rayudu back in the hut. Then, came one of the shots of the tournament. Dhoni, deliberately sent a low full toss outside off stump over third-man for six. There was helplessness on the bowler’s face, for he hadn’t done much wrong.

With 16 needed off the final over and Bravo and Dhoni on the crease, CSK made a mockery of RCB’s bowling as they made those runs in 4 deliveries. CSK had scored 100 runs in 38 deliveries to seal the match and continued their dominance while chasing.