5 Most Thrilling Wins For CSK While Chasing

The Chennai Super Kings have been the most successful franchise in the IPL making it to the playoffs every season they have played in. They won the latest edition of the IPL when they made a comeback win after a 2 season ban.

This was largely due to their star-filled ranks with the likes of Mike Hussey, Matthew Hayden, Suresh Raina, DJ Bravo, Brendon Mccullum, Faf Du Plessis, and were led by arguably the best captain and finisher, MS Dhoni.

The trend in the IPL has been to win the toss and bowl first. The teams now prefer playing on their batting strengths and giving them a score to chase down and CSK too keeping with the trend have scripted many memorable chases. MSD and co. always preferred to chase than bat first and profited having big hitters like Bravo, Albie Morkel and Jadeja and finishers like MSD who were prolific run scorers during chases.

CSK have won a few matches from impossible situations, like the one where MSD scored a 76 against RCB in the previous season, but have been good chasers with a 64% win record. They have also had the habit of sometimes playing matches down to the wire, which have ended up being absolute cliffhangers both on the losing and the winning side.

Here are the 5 most thrilling chases from CSK in the 9 editions of IPL they have played so far.

#5 Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders ( Match 5, 2018) MOM: Sam Billings

This will be a match which the Super Kings fans can think about and be proud of. After being banned for 2 seasons, they returned to play their first home game of the season against KKR. Although this match turned out to be their only match in Chennai with the rest of the matches being shifted to Pune citing hostile political scenarios, this match left a lasting impact on everyone who played and will be a moment which the winning team will cherish.

Jadeja finished the game off in an emphatic manner after Billings' 56 had set the stage for a thrilling finish

MS Dhoni won the toss and elected to bowl first in spinner friendly conditions. The Knight Riders posted a daunting 202/5 courtesy a 36 ball 88 from Andre Russell who smashed the CSK bowlers out of the park. After an initial stumble, Robin Uthappa managed to steady the innings and was going good when he was run out following a mix up with captain Dinesh Karthik. Andre Russell walked in after Rinku Singh 's departure when the score was 89/5 in 10 overs.

After a slow start, Russell slammed Bravo for a six in the 14th over. He continued by hitting 2 sixes of Shardul Thakur in the 16th over but the big ones were still to come. He hit Bravo for 3 sixes in the 17th over with one going over the roof travelling a phenomenal 105 metres and followed that up by hittting Bravo for 3 consecutive sixes in the 19th over. Dre Russ finished off with 88 of 36 balls scoring 11 sixes and 1 four.

It was never going to be easy for the Super Kings but their opening pair of Rayudu and Watson were up to task scoring freely in the Powerplay and ended with 75/1 after 6 overs with Watson departing a quick fire 42 off 19 balls. Sunil Narine choked CSK after that and Kuldeep Yadav got the better of Ambati Rayudu. Raina was struggling at one end and was dismissed by Sunil Narine who finished the match with figures of 1 for 17 in 4 overs.

However, Captain Cool hung in, playing dot ball after dot ball and was joined by Sam Billings who decided to accelerate. Dhoni too decided to make up for lost time slamming Kuldeep Yadav in the 14th over which yielded 16 runs. Billings was dropped in the 15th over by Uthappa and finished the over with a six. Dhoni was dismissed in the 17th over and Billings took over from there.

He hit 2 sixes off Andre Russell's bowling in the 18th over and brought the equation down to 27 runs from 2 overs. He hit a six next over and was dismissed by Curran after playing a brilliant cameo of 56 runs from 23 balls. Dwayne Bravo walked in joining Jadeja and 17 runs were required off the last over.

Vinay Kumar was entrusted with the responsibility of bowling it and he started off on a dismal note bowling a No Ball due to height, which was hit for six by Bravo. After rotating strike and a couple of wides bowled, Jadeja faced the bowler with 4 runs required off 2 balls. He drilled the ball over long on for a six ending the match in an emphatic fashion.

Sam Billings received the Man of the Match award for his crucial innings while Andre Russell's effort went in vain as CSK kept their cool and finished off this game brilliantly.

#4 Chennai Super Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore(2013) MOM: Ravindra Jadeja

Ravindra Jadeja

Chennai Super Kings won this thriller out of nowhere due to the strong middle order performances and some nerve towards the end. Virat Kohli's great match was ruined when Ravindra Jadeja finished off the match with 1 ball to spare.

Dhoni won the toss and elected to field first. Chris Morris removed the dangerous Chris Gayle and Ashwin got Mayank Agarwal's wicket and were looking to put pressure on RCB. Virat Kohli and ABD, however, had different plans. The duo put on an 80 run stand and Virat Kohli departed after scoring a steady knock of 58 runs off 47 balls when the team's score was 133/3.

RCB lost a flurry of wickets with no middle order batsman performing but ABD, who was there till the end and finished off with a brilliant knock of 64 runs off just 32 balls with a Strike Rate of 200. He got out on the last ball. RCB finished with 165/6, a par score which the CSK was looking to chase with comfort.

It was however not to be as CSK lost Vijay early to Ravi Rampaul and Mike Hussey who struggled to score 6 runs off 16 balls to Vinay Kumar. Suresh Raina and Subramaniam Badrinath put on a 50 run partnership before Raina got out unexpectedly scoring 30 off 22 balls leaving Chennai at 66/3. Captain Cool MSD walked out to the middle joining Badrinath and started taking singles and rotating strike but Syed Mohammed chipped in with yet another scalp after he picked up the crucial wicket of Badrinath who departed after scoring 34 off 29 balls.

Ravindra Jadeja, the million dollar man walked out to join his captain and CSK were looking to turn this around. With some good running, apt rotation of strike and big hitting CSK managed to reach 125/4 at the end of 17 overs. The RCB bowlers had bowled really well till then and had controlled the middle period. Vinay Kumar's 18th over gave away only 1 boundary but still yielded 12 runs thanks to the brilliant running from Dhoni and Jadeja. CSK required 29 off 12 deliveries and this looked achievable especially when Dhoni was going good.

Ravi Rampaul bowled the 19th and picked up the crucial wicket of MSD in the very first ball leaving the CSK fans shocked and their own fans celebrating. The advantage certainly seemed to be with RCB but after Rampaul bowled a wide to DJ Bravo, after which Bravo hit Rampaul for a six and that reduced the equation to 22 off 10 balls. Rampaul hit back 2 balls later trapping Bravo for LBW. Chris Morris finished the over with 4 runs of the last 2 balls leaving CSK to score 16 runs off the last over to win. Ravi Rampaul finished off with impressive figures of 3 for 31 in his 4 overs.

Jadeja got a boundary in the first ball when he attempted a wild heave off RP Singh's final over and edged the ball which went past the third man for a boundary. He hit the very next ball down the ground for a six and CSK required just 6 runs off 4 balls. Singh pulled things back miraculously as CSK scored 4 runs off the next 3 balls leaving them 2 to score off the last ball. Virat Kohli made a few changes in the field and Jadeja made himself ready to face the ball as CSK's fans held their breath in anticipation.

Jadeja played an uppercut to RP Singh's short off a length delivery and hit it straight to the fielder at third man but RCB's joy was short-lived as the bowler had overstepped and the CSK batsmen had crossed over and hence won an absolute nail-biter. Ravindra Jadeja was adjudged the man of the match for his exemplary performance and composure and ABD's and Virat's innings ended in vain as CSK pulled off yet another thrilling victory.

#3- Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders(2012) MOM: Mike Hussey

This match was an absolute nail-biter which saw the match going till the very end and Dwayne Bravo sensationally finished off the match. CSK required to win this match to stay alive in the tournament and make the playoffs and they did so and made it to the final where they lost to the same team, KKR.

MS Dhoni won the toss and elected to bowl first. It seemed like the decision was a wrong one when Gambhir and McCullum fired with all guns blazing. They ended their power play with a score of 50/0 and continued their onslaught through the middle period and Gambhir reached his 50 off just 31 balls in the 9th over and continued scoring freely.

In the 12th over, McCullum got out unexpectedly when he was sent back by Gambhir after initial shouts of "Yes" and Dhoni ran McCullum out. Gambhir perished off the first ball of the next over getting bowled by Shadab Jakati, the ball clipping his pad on its way to hitting the stump. After the whirlwind start, the middle order failed to get going and with a few lusty hits from Debarata Das and Yusuf Pathan, the team managed to score 158/6 in 20 overs.

During the chase, Mike Hussey and Murali Vijay opened the batting for CSK and had a great Powerplay and had scored 51 runs without losing a wicket in the first 6 overs. The duo continued with their onslaught and hit Rajat Bhatia for 17 runs in the 8th over and were at 96/0 at the end of 10 overs and the win seemed a mere formality.

In the 11th over, Mike Hussey went for a slog sweep against Sunil Narine and gave a pretty easy catch to Rajat Bhatia at short fine leg. Vijay followed suit getting bowled 2 balls later to a ball which turned and kept low when he tried to slash the ball past point. Sunil Narine had pulled things back well when Faf walked in.

After a couple of quiet overs Raina got run out when he was chasing a second run off Balaji's bowling. He nudged the ball towards square leg and looked comfortable before Bhatia's brilliant through combined with McCullum's fast hands resulted in him being short of the crease.

Captain Cool MSD walked in when the score was 110/3. Due to largely quiet overs and a brilliant spell of bowling from Sunil Narine who finished off with 2 wickets in 4 overs conceding just 14 runs, CSK required 32 of the last 3 overs.

Faf got dismissed when he tried to slog Bhatia over long on but Manoj Tiwary held on for a good catch. He conceded just 5 runs and suddenly CSK required 27 off 2 overs. De Lange bowled the 19th and Dhoni sprung into action as he scored two 4s and one six and the over yielded 18 runs. CSK required 9 runs off the last over. Rajat Bhatia was to bowl the last over.

He got the wicket of MSD in the 2nd ball of his over with a crafty leg cutter and Dhoni missed completely when he went for the slog over mid-wicket. Jadeja walked in and rotated the strike with Bravo and when 5 runs were required off 2 balls, Bravo missed. CSK required 5 runs off the last ball to stay alive in the competition and their fans held their breaths in anticipation.

DJ Bravo slogged Bhatia's full toss over long on and the ball landed just beyond the ropes much to the dismay of the KKR fans. It was a riveting end to a great match and the KKR camp just looked stunned and the CSK fans had yet another moment to cherish and remember.

Mike Hussey was awarded the Man of the Match award for his great innings but when he got dismissed, he never would've thought that the team was going to take it to the last ball to win the game.

#2 Chennai Super Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore(2012) MOM: Faf Du Plessis

In this match, Daniel Vettori from RCB won the toss and elected to bat first. Mayank Agarwal and Gayle put on an opening stand of 53, out of of which, 46 were scored by Mayank in his whirlwind innings. He had set the stage for a big RCB total and Virat Kohli and Gayle thought the same thing. Both of them started to get going after the powerplay, with Gayle hitting Suresh Raina for a 6 and 4. The overs ticked on with 1 boundary in each of them and Gayle hit 2 consecutive sixes of Jakati to reach his half-century off 27 balls. Jadeja finally dismissed Gayle in the 17th over after Gayle sliced one over cover only for Bravo to take a good catch.

Kohli went on despite ABD's departure soon after he came in and hit 2 sixes of Albie Morkel's bowling in the 18th over. After that, the RCB faced a batting collapse starting with Saurabh Tiwary and ending with Bhatkal as RCB slumped from 198/4 to 199/8 but Vinay Kumar's last ball six got them to the score of 205/8 in their 20 overs setting CSK a huge target to chase down.

Albie Morkel

CSK openers Vijay and Du Plessis started off slowly but gained momentum as Du Plessis hit Vettori for 2 boundaries and later smashed Bhatkal for 2 sixes and 1 four as CSK finished their power play with a score of 51/0. Vijay gave a return catch to Muttiah Muralitharan in the next over and captain Vettori made a strange bowling change the next over as Virat Kohli came into bowl.

Kohli conceded 8 runs in that over bowling just 1 loose ball which Raina dispatched for 4 runs. CSK kept the scoreboard ticking and had scored 85/1 after 10 overs. Muralitharan picked up yet another crucial wicket in Raina the very next over as Raina played against the turn and gave a simple catch to Raju Bhatkal. MSD walked in after that wicket.

Dhoni hit Raju Bhatkal out of the ground in the 13th over and CSK were at 112/2 at the end of the 13th. Vettori received the similar treatment from Du Plessis when the South African slammed him for 2 sixes in the 14th over. Murali picked up yet another wicket the next over scalping Du Plessis who departed after scoring a brilliant 71 off 46 balls. CSK required 50 off the last 3 overs and had little hope except that MSD will still at the crease.

Zaheer Khan bowled brilliantly in the 18th over conceding just 7 runs and dismissing MSD. Albie Morkel walked in and the game seemed to be lost for CSK when Vettori made a bizarre bowling change yet again, Virat Kohli came in to bowl the 19th over. Albie Morkel didn't want to give up without a fight and smashed Virat's first 4 deliveries for 2 sixes and 2 fours. He added 8 runs off the next 2 balls bringing the equation to 15 off the last over as Virat's over yielded a whopping 28 runs.

There was yet another twist when Albie Morkel got out in the 2nd ball of the over leaving CSK to score 14 runs off 4 balls. Vinay Kumar who bowled a nice slower ball to dismiss Albie bowled a full toss above the waist and Bravo hit it for 4 and the umpire signalled for a no ball. Bravo hit the next ball for six and after missing the next ball, gave the strike to Jadeja.

CSK required 2 off the last ball, which Jadeja hit for 4 runs past square leg as CSK pulled off a truly amazing comeback win in this absolute thriller. Although no one expected them to win from the stage they were in, Vettori's massive blunder in giving Kohli the ball for the 19th resulted in a truly great and memorable encounter for CSK.

Faf Du Plessis was adjudged the Man of the Match for his innings which set the stage for the CSK win although his fellow teammate from South Africa, Albie Morkel did the big hitting towards the end to script a brilliant win for CSK.

#1 Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians(2018) MOM: Dwayne Bravo

Jadhav showed great spirit in coming back into the game after being injured and finished the game off

This match will surely be on the minds of all cricketing fans. It was the first match of the 11th season of Vivo IPL and marked CSK's return to the IPL following a 2-year ban. It was a roller coaster ride where both teams were down and out at some point but managed to claw their way back into the game.

MSD won the toss and elected to field first as was the trend. Rohit Sharma found a new opening partner in Evin Lewis and Chahar opened the bowling for CSK. He turned out to be a great find for CSK as he trapped the big-hitting Evin Lewis for LBW and he departed for a duck. Rohit struggled to find his rhythm as he too perished soon after he tried to heave Watson over mid-on and Rayudu took a simple catch as MI were in deep trouble.

Suryakumar Yadav and the young Ishan Kishan batted brilliantly toying with the CSK bowlers. They put on 78 runs for the 3rd wicket before Shane Watson made Yadav edge one towards fine leg and MSD took a fine running catch. Ishan Kishan soon departed giving Imran Tahir his first wicket in CSK colours as he went on his signature lap around the ground. The Pandya brothers, especially Krunal, slogged the CSK bowlers around the park as they finished on a high note posting 165/4.

This match tested the strength of CSK's new opening pair, Rayudu and Watson and they were brilliant throughout the season. They started off brilliantly scoring boundaries at will and were cruising when Watson's attempted flick found Evin Lewis at square leg and Hardik Pandya started off his brilliant spell with a wicket. Suresh Raina was the new man in and he struggled to score runs and Hardik, who was nursing a sore hamstring picked up his second wicket in the last ball of the power play dismissing Raina with a short ball.

MSD walked in at number 4 and CSK were on 41/2 after 6 overs. Mayank Markande, the young leggie, was sent into bowl and he marked his fantastic debut trapping Rayudu for an LBW with a beautiful googly. Kedar Jadhav came into bat and CSK were under pressure at that time. Markande further justified Mumbai's faith in him when he trapped MSD in front with yet another googly. Although the umpire didn't give him out, Rohit Sharma went for the review and overturned the decision and when Jadeja walked out to the middle, CSK were in deep trouble.

Jadeja and Jadhav restored some confidence with some boundaries but Jadeja spooned one to the man at mid off after Mustafizur bowled a slower delivery and CSK were struggling at 75/5 after 12 overs. Bravo walked in and made an immediate impact hitting Markande for a six but Jadhav had pulled his hamstring in the same time and had to be taken off and was retired hurt. Chahar, the new man in got out for a duck handing Markande his 3rd wicket to cap off a brilliant debut.

At this stage, no one expected CSK to win. Though Bravo kept them in the hunt, Harbhajan soon perished trying to accelerate and so did Mark Wood. Bravo and Imran Tahir were in the middle for CSK and they needed 48 runs off 3 overs. He smashed McClenaghan for 2 sixes and a boundary in the 18th over which gave away 20 runs and kept CSK in the hunt. Bumrah, arguably the best death bowler bowled the 19th and Bravo hit 3 sixes in the over which also saw the ball hit the stump but the bails not lighting up. Bumrah finally dismissed Bravo who scored 68 runs off just 30 balls leaving CSK with 7 runs to score in the last over.

The injured Kedar Jadhav showed great spirit in walking back out to the middle but was struggling to bat. The Fizz bowled the last over and bowled 3 consecutive dot balls to Jadhav who found it hard to turn. The next ball, Jadhav crouched to one leg and smashed the ball over fine leg for a six and the CSK camp went berserk. He scored a boundary off the next ball and ended the match in spectacular fashion.

Bravo was adjudged Man of the Match for his brilliant innings and Kedar Jadhav's great courage was rewarded as CSK won the IPL that season