IPL 2018: You can be either a heart patient or a Chennai Superkings fan but can't be both

After a long wait of two years, the two-time champions Chennai Super Kings are back in the 11th season of IPL.

The Whistle Podus have undoubtedly got all their boxes right. The legacy of winning matches from the jaws of defeat is still the same.

The run-chase against RCB at Chinnaswamy is sublime proof of that. Returning after a two-year hiatus and then winning five out of the first six matches is another example which shows that the Yellow Brigade has got most of their things right in order to become the champions of the league.

Whether it’s the Fanbase or the performance, CSK has started the tournament in the same way they left two years ago.

Talking about the fanbase, the no. of fans have just gone beyond the expectations in this period of two years.

And if you look at the performance, the yellow lions of CSK have undoubtedly looked to take inspiration from their past and get back to doing what they do best - enthrall the cricket fans of the country with some eye-catching display in the field -

Here, Broken Cricket reviews the team performance in the first three weeks of IPL 11.

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#1 New Individuals stepping up in each game

Dhoni and Rayudu have been consistent performers for CSK this season

Cricket is a team game, Especially when you are playing a long tournament. A couple of good players cannot win you the whole tournament and CSK have At least one individual has always stepped up in each of the six games they’ve played.

From Bravo winning it single-handedly in the first game to Dhoni and Rayudu chasing the Required Run Rate of 13 as a cakewalk against RCB, Chennai batsmen have completely outcasted the opponents’ bowlers.

If you look at the scorecard of the team in the past three weeks, you’ll see that a new player has stepped up in each game.

Bravo in the first game, Billings in the second, Dhoni in third and then Watson, Rayudu and Dhoni/Rayudu again in the fourth, fifth and sixth game respectively have brutally smacked the bowlers.

The only game Chennai lost (vs KXIP) was also the last over-thriller where MS Dhoni almost gave us all a heart attack.

Not only batsmen but the bowlers like Shardul, Chahar and Tahir are also making a point of the match or the other. And that is what you did expect from a champion team.

#2 Love of the fans at every venue

The fans have been in full support for CSK in each game

Chennai Super Kings’ love for their fans is not hidden from anyone of us. They are definitely the team with one of the biggest fanbases in the Indian Premier League.

Both, the fans and the franchise accept the mutual amount of love from each other. Whilst the team management never leaves a chance to bring a smile on their fans’ faces, the fans also treat the team as a family. They find their Thala in Dhoni, Chinna Thala in Raina and a champion in Bravo.

The two years’ ban was really painful for all the Yellow Army fans. But the fans were again full of enthusiasm and exhilaration as their Whistle Podus were back again in IPL 11.

Dhoni had mentioned earlier this year that CSK's "biggest strength" was the fans and that even when they didn't feature in the IPL for two years their fan base increased.

CSK played their first match at the Wankhede and received a phenomenal response from the fans. The second match was played at the Super Kings’ home ground, Chepauk! Does this needs any further introductions?

As Expected, the whole stadium was flooded with people wearing yellow outfits. Chennai won the match and gave a propitious start to their home games.

But due to the Cauvery Water Dispute, CSK lost their rights to host their home matches at Chepauk! This was heartbreaking for the fans.

They were all exasperated. And why wouldn't they? The dream of watching the Yellow Army live for seven games was short lived.

The wait that they did for 1065 days was useless. The games were now shifted to Pune. But the tables turned as the CSK owners’ had some other plans.

The bonding between the two - Fans and the team management - grew even stronger. They didn’t disappoint their fans as they arranged a train named “WHISTLEPODU EXPRESS” from Chennai to Pune for as many as 1000 CSK fans and that too free of cost.

The fans in return gave the team; a wonderful support at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore was the Super Kings were facing the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

#3 Winning the matches from jaws of defeat

The team has played an astonishing brand of cricket

The Chennai Super Kings are currently at the top of the table after the first three weeks of IPL 11.

The No. 1 ranked team has won some mouth-watering games in the last few moments of the match.

The team has played an astonishing brand of cricket and has pulled off the games in their favour from the jaws of defeat.

They have won some of those matches which they were losing 80% of the time. Every time you think of them losing the match, a new player stands up and leaves us all befuddled.

Right from the first match vs MI at which CSK needed as many as 46 runs in the last three overs where Bravo’s blitz of 68 runs won the game for CSK… The Yellow Army has made it a habit of winning the nail-biting encounters.

The strategy of targeting the weak bowlers in death overs has worked outstandingly for CSK. In death overs, they’ve scored, 72 runs vs MI, 77 vs KKR, 80 runs vs KXIP, 51 vs RR and as many as 76 and 81 against SRH and RCB respectively.

Even at the last match against RCB at Chinnaswamy, Dhoni and Rayudu decided to play calmly against leggies like Chahal and then went berserk in the last six overs and pulled off the 205 runs’ chase with two balls to spare.

After watching all the CSK matches one thing is sure that, You can either be a heart patient or a CSK fan but you can't be both!

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