Rating Chennai Super Kings' performance in each IPL from 2008-18

Indian Premier League has by far remained as the best cricketing festival so far since its introduction in 2008.

The year 2008 brought about a drastic change in cricket especially in India because of the inaugural season of the mega-event known as the Indian Premier League.

Chennai Super Kings is the first franchise whose name comes to everyone’s mind when the IPL is the topic of the discussion. Out of the eight initial city-based franchises, Chennai franchise was bought by the India Cements group for a total cost of 91 million dollars in the year 2007.

CSK has emerged out as the most successful team in IPL right from its inaugural season only.

Chennai Super Kings stole the whole show in the year 2008 auction itself as they bought Mahendra Singh Dhoni for 1.5 million dollars making it as the costliest bid in that opening season. This was the main reason behind CSK’s huge success in the history of IPL.

So far, CSK has lifted the glittering IPL trophy for 3 times out of the 9 seasons played by them.

The year 2016 and 2017 were not the happiest one for the side’s fans as their team was banned for two years from IPL because of their involvement in the betting controversy. However, they made their comeback in style in the year 2018 as they ended up winning their third IPL title in 2018.

Their success ratio of 60.67% from nine seasons itself suggests why they are the best in history. Out of the total 150 matches, CSK has won 91 out of them which showcases their consistency and the hunger for victories.

The entire summary and performances of Chennai Super Kings in IPL from 2008 to 2018 is as follows:

---

2008, Runners-Up

Chennai Super Kings ended the inaugural season of IPL as the runners-up.

The year 2008 was the most exciting one for the Indians fans as they were eager to see the first edition of IPL. Along with this, the centre point of attraction for the Indian fans was the costliest bid of that year, Dhoni.

Dhoni made sure that the amount invested in him by his franchise did not go in vain. Dhoni proved to be the best bid for CSK in that season as he took his franchise to the finals of the IPL 2008.

However, CSK ended up as runners-up in that season as they lost in a close-contested final to Rajasthan Royals.

Out of the total of 16 matches in that season, CSK won 9 of them and also won the Fair Play Award of that season. They even scored the highest total (263) of that season which showcased the all-around performance of their side.

Rating - 9/10

2009, Semi-finalists

Matthew Hayden from CSK won the Orange Cap award in the year 2009

The second edition of IPL was hosted by South Africa in the year 2009. But, it didn’t prove to be a happy outing for the Chennai-based franchise.

This season for CSK ended during the semi-finals as they failed to qualify for the finals. However, a few other things also happened in favour of the CSK side which continued to show the strength of that franchise.

The opening batsmen from CSK known as Matthew Hayden won the orange cap award of that tournament as he scored 572 runs and emerged as the leading run scorer in 2009. Along with that, he even ended the season by winning the player of the tournament award.

CSK won eight out of 15 matches in that season which created a success ratio of 53.33%, which is by far the least one from the entire nine seasons played by them.

Rating - 7/10

2010, Champions

CSK won their first IPL title in the year 2010

The third edition of Indian Premier League which took place in the year 2010 proved to be a magical one for the Chennai based franchise.

During this edition, Chennai Super Kings won their first IPL title by successfully defeating Mumbai Indians in the finals. Suresh Raina played the lead role for Chennai in the final of IPL 2010 with his vital innings of 57*.

Chennai Super Kings won this season because of their balanced performances in all the 3 departments. Raina and Muttiah Muralitharan emerged out as the top players for their franchise. CSK defeated the mighty Mumbai side by 22 runs in the finals claiming their first IPL title of the history.

Chennai Super Kings maintained their consistency till the finals as they finished at the top position of the points table during the IPL 2010.

Rating- 10/10

2011, Champions

CSK won their second IPL title in the year 2011

Chennai Super Kings continued their winning momentum from 2010 to 2011 as they won their second IPL title in the year 2011.

CSK became the first team to win two consecutive seasons in the history of IPL. They defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore during the finals of IPL 2011 by 58 runs to win their second IPL Trophy.

This season was the most difficult one as compared to the previous ones because of the inclusion of two new teams.

However, the CSK boys didn’t have that extra fear in their mind because of the presence of Mahendra Singh Dhoni in their side.

Dhoni has mastered his art of remaining calm even in the toughest of situations which provided the extra benefit to their side.

CSK won the total of 11 out of 16 matches in that season which resulted in a success ratio of 68.75%.

The men in yellow ended the tournament by winning all the home matches and also the fair play award of IPL 2011.

Rating- 10/10

2012, Runners-Up

Suresh Raina from CSK became the first player to score 2000 runs in IPL in the year 2012.

One of the main reasons for CSK’s success in the history of IPL is their star-studded batting line-up.

The entire strength of the CSK side lies in their top order which starts from Suresh Raina and ends with Mahendra Singh Dhoni. These two have been the main players in all the victories achieved by their side.

Raina has so far remained as the leading run scorer in the history of IPL with a total of 4,985 runs in 172 innings with a strike rate of 138.47.

Apart from this, he has also remained as the leading run scorer from the entire CSK side. Hence, Raina has always performed when his team required him the most.

The fifth season of IPL was a balanced one for CSK as they ended up as the Runners-Up in this season.

They lost the final match to Kolkata Knight Riders but individually each and every player from CSK gave their best on the field.

Luck favored the Chennai Super Kings in the league stage as they edged out the Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kings XI Punjab to make it to the top 4.

Rating- 8/10

2013, Runners-Up

CSK lost the finals of Indian Premier League 2013 against Mumbai Indians.

Chennai Super Kings have remained as the most successful team in the history of IPL so far. Out of the total nine seasons played by them, there isn’t a single season during which CSK was eliminated in the group stage itself.

In all the seasons, the MS Dhoni-led CSK has qualified for the playoff which is a matter of pride for the franchise.

In the 2013 season as well, Chennai maintained their unmatched consistency and qualified for the playoffs by finishing at the top of the points table with 11 wins in the league stage.

They defeated Mumbai Indians in the 1st Qualifier to reach the final of the tournament where they met the Mumbai side once again.

Unfortunately, CSK lost the finals of 2013 IPL to Mumbai Indians by 33 runs as Kieron Pollard emerged as a hero for the Mumbai side.

Rating- 8.5/10

2014, Semi-Finalists

Mohit Sharma from CSK won the purple cap award in the year 2014.

Chennai Super Kings didn’t have that happy ending which they would have wished for in the seventh season of Indian Premier League.

CSK ended this season by being at the third position in the points table with a total of 18 points after winning nine matches in the league stage.

They made it to the playoffs where they battled Mumbai Indians in the eliminator. They eliminated the Mumbai Indians to progress further and face the Kings XI Punjab in the second qualifier. Despite Suresh Raina‘s best efforts, CSK lost the match.

However, a few other things also happened in this season which were noteworthy for the Chennai side.

During this season, Raina became the first player to play 100 games and to score 3,000 runs in the history of IPL. Apart from this, CSK also became the first team to play 100 IPL games in this season.

CSK ended this season by winning the fair play award of 2014.

Rating - 8/10

2015, Runners-Up

Dwayne Bravo from CSK won the Purple Cap award in the year 2015 scalping a total of 26 wickets

Chennai Super Kings has been the luckiest team in the entire history of IPL to have high-class players in their side.

CSK has had the two best all-rounders in their side in Dwayne Bravo and Ravindra Jadeja since 2012 and the two stepped up their game in the 2015 season.

Bravo sealed the match for his side many times with some top class performances while Jadeja provided necessary breakthroughs in the middle, multiple times.

Bravo proved to be the main player for CSK during the 8th edition of IPL which was conducted in the year 2015.

Bravo ended the season as the leading wicket-taker with a total of 26 wickets. Apart from this, he also won the best fielder of the season award for his spectacular catch at the boundary line.

Chennai Super Kings led by Dhoni finished this season as the runners-Up after they lost the final to Mumbai Indians by 41 runs.

CSK had earlier topped the points table in the league stage with 18 points but came up short once again in the final of the tournament.

Rating- 9/10

2018, Champions

CSK won their 3rd IPL title in the year 2018 after being suspended for 2 years.

The year 2016 and 2017 proved to be the worst ones for Chennai Super Kings fans as their team didn’t play in the IPL for these two years.

Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals were the two sides who were banned due to their involvement in the betting controversy.

However, CSK made their comeback in the year 2018 in style as they went on to win their third IPL title.

CSK stunned the whole cricket world with their strategy in the auction for IPL 2018 as the franchise placed bids on older players like Shane Watson and Ambati Rayudu instead of the younger ones.

However, this proved to be the season-winning trick for their side as the experienced CSK players stole the whole show.

Dhoni’s trust saw young pacers like Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar rise as CSK produced a new match-winner in every match. In the end, Shane Watson won the final of VIVO IPL 2018 for his side with his mind-boggling century against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Rating- 10/10