Chennai Super Kings: A Brief History Till Now

Introduction

Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India serves as home to the cricket team Chennai Super Kings (CSK). In the Indian Premier League, they participate. The M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai serves as the home field for the 2008-founded team. India Cements, which is owned by Chennai Super Kings Cricket Ltd., is a sizable shareholder in the group. Due to the team’s owners’ involvement in the 2013 IPL betting case, the IPL suspended the team for two seasons starting in July 2015. The team came back in 2018 and claimed the title. The team’s captain is MS Dhoni, and Stephen Fleming is the head coach. They are the reigning IPL champions as they won the 2021 season. In January 2022, CSK established itself as the nation’s first unicorn sports organization.

The Super Kings have won the IPL championship four times and have the highest win percentage (58.98%) of any team. They have, respectively, appeared in the most playoff games (11) and IPL Finals (9).

They also won the Champions League Twenty20 in 2010 and 2014. The Super Kings, one of the most expensive IPL teams, are anticipated to have a brand value of roughly 732 crore (roughly $104 million) in 2019.

History

The Indian Premier League, a Twenty20 league that will begin play in 2008, was announced by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in September 2007. The BCCI revealed the owners of eight city-based franchises in January 2008. After Mumbai, Bangalore, and Hyderabad, the Chennai franchise was purchased by India Cements for $91 million, making it the league’s fourth most expensive team. For ten years, India Cements purchased the franchise rights. The former ICC Chairman N. Srinivasan was the de facto owner of the Chennai Super Kings due to his position as vice chairman and managing director of India Cements Ltd. The franchisee was transferred to a different company called Chennai Super Kings Cricket Ltd. after the contentious BCCI constitution amendment that allowed board members to have a financial interest in the Indian Premier League and the Champions League Twenty20 on January 22, 2015.

First seasons: 2008–2009

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Matthew Hayden, Stephen Fleming, Muttiah Muralitharan, and Michael Hussey are just a few of the current top cricketers that the Chennai franchise has acquired. The player auctions for the first IPL season were held in January 2008, and they also saw the acquisition of a number of other top players. Dhoni became the most expensive player of the auction when the Chennai franchise paid $1.5 million to acquire him. Kepler Wessels was named head coach and Dhoni was named team captain by the franchise. On April 19, 2008, they played their inaugural match at Mohali against Kings XI Punjab. The Super Kings scored 240/5 in 20 overs, the highest total of the tournament, which they later broke in 2010. The Super Kings won the match by 33 runs.

With eight victories from 14 games at the league stage, the Super Kings placed third in the points standings. In the semifinal match, they defeated Kings XI Punjab by 9 wickets. The Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals squared off in the IPL championship game in Mumbai. The Super Kings lost the game by three wickets off the final delivery of the game after scoring 163/5 in 20 overs while batting first. Along with Rajasthan, they were also given a spot in the first Champions League Twenty20; however, due to the 2008 Mumbai attacks, the tournament was postponed, and the Super Kings and Rajasthan each received $5 million as compensation. After the first IPL season, Fleming made the decision to stop playing all sports, and he replaced Wessels as coach of the Super Kings team for the following season, which was to be played in South Africa.

The Super Kings purchased English all-rounder Andrew Flintoff for $1.55 million at the auction, making him the highest-paid IPL cricketer for the 2009 season. His English teammate Kevin Pietersen was also purchased by the Super Kings for the same price. However, Flintoff only participated in three of their games before suffering a knee injury that prevented him from continuing the season. Hussey, who opted to forgo the IPL season in favour of The Ashes, was also unavailable to the Super Kings. With 17 points from 14 games, the Super Kings placed second in the league standings.

However, the Royal Challengers defeated them by 6 wickets in the semi-finals, dash their hopes of returning to the final. Matthew Hayden, the Super Kings’ opener, was named Player of the Tournament in addition to winning the Orange Cap for the season’s top run-scorer after scoring 572 runs in 12 innings with five half-centuries at an average of 52 and 145 strikeouts.

IPL and CLT20 double in 2010

The Super Kings had a difficult first half of the 2010 regular season, winning just two of seven games. The efforts of Murali Vijay and Suresh Raina helped them win four of their following five games of the season. The Super Kings had a crucial match against Kings XI Punjab in Dharamshala after losing at home to the Delhi Daredevils. With two balls remaining, the Super Kings successfully chased down the 193-run target to win the game by six wickets, thanks in large part to captain Dhoni’s unbeaten 54 from 29 deliveries.

The Super Kings had a difficult first half of the 2010 regular season, winning just two of seven games. The efforts of Murali Vijay and Suresh Raina helped them win four of their following five games of the season. The Super Kings had a crucial match against Kings XI Punjab in Dharamshala after losing at home to the Delhi Daredevils. With two balls remaining, the Super Kings successfully chased down the 193-run target to win the game by six wickets, thanks in large part to captain Dhoni’s unbeaten 54 from 29 deliveries. Chennai finished the season with the same number of points as three other teams, competing for two semi-final spots, with seven victories from 14 games. Since Chennai had the highest net run rate of the four teams that finished with 14 points, they were awarded third place. Against the defending champion Deccan Chargers in the semifinal, the Super Kings only managed to score a meagre 142/7 in 20 overs. However, Doug Bollinger’s brilliant bowling performance (4/13 in four overs) did the most damage as the Chargers were dismissed for 104. The Super Kings won by 38 runs as a result, advancing them to the championship game. In order to help the Super Kings win the game by 22 runs and win their first ever IPL title, their spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Muralitharan only allowed 41 runs to be scored in the 8 overs they combined to bowl. In doing so, the Super Kings also earned a spot in the South African-hosted 2010 Champions League Twenty20.

The Super Kings were put in Group A of the Champions League alongside the winners of the Twenty20 tournaments in Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and Sri Lanka. With three victories and a Super Over loss to the Victorian Bushrangers, the Super Kings topped the group standings. The Super Kings easily defeated IPL rivals Royal Challengers Bangalore by 52 runs in the semi-final at Durban. For his unbeaten 94 off 48 balls, Raina was named Man of the Match. The Super Kings, the first IPL team to win the CLT20, competed in their first CLT20 final in Johannesburg and defeated the Chevrolet Warriors by an eight wicket margin. In addition to being named Man of the Match in the championship game for his 58 runs, Murali Vijay also received the Golden Bat award for amassing the most runs during the competition, and Ashwin, who had the most wickets taken, was named Player of the Series. Matthew Hayden made the decision to leave the IPL at the conclusion of the campaign.

2011-2015: Achievement and suspension

The IPL Governing Council announced in 2011 that each franchise could keep a maximum of four players from their squad, only three of whom could be Indian players, and that the remaining international players would be put up for auction. The Chennai franchise paid a total of $4.5 million to retain its core group of players, which included all-rounder Albie Morkel, Murali Vijay, Suresh Raina, and captain MS Dhoni. They were only able to spend $4.5 million at the mega-auction due to the retention. Some of their top players from prior seasons, including Hussey, Ashwin, Bollinger, and Subramaniam Badrinath, were purchased back at the auction.

As a result of losing three of their opening five games in the 2011 IPL, they finished last in the standings. However, they proceeded to win seven of their subsequent eight games to place second and earn a place in the knockout rounds. In the Qualifying final, they played the top-ranked team Royal Challengers Bangalore, which they defeated by 6 wickets thanks to an unbeaten 73 by Suresh Raina. They again faced the same opponents in the championship game, which was played at their home field, Chepauk. A 133-run first-wicket partnership between Vijay and Hussey enabled the Super Kings to post a total of 205/5. Then, their bowlers held Bangalore to just 147, leading the Super Kings to their second straight IPL championship. Due to his 95-run innings, which won the match, Vijay was named Man of the Match. CSK was the first IPL team to accomplish the feat that season by winning every game at home. However, they only managed to win one of their four group games in the Champions League later that year, where they came in last place.

2018 to Present

1. 2018

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Suresh Raina, and Ravindra Jadeja remained with Chennai Super Kings prior to the player mega auction. RTM was also used to reintegrate Faf du Plessis and Dwayne Bravo into the team. More than 10,000 people showed up for the practise sessions held at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai prior to the start of the tournament as a result of the Super Kings’ return to the IPL, which was the cause of much celebration and fanfare among the audience.

Dwayne Bravo scored an unbeaten 68 off 30 balls to lead Chennai to a thrilling one-wicket victory over the Mumbai Indians in the season’s opening game. Sam Billings’ quickfire half-century helped the Kings, who were playing their first home game in Chennai, successfully chase down a target of 202 set by the Kolkata Knight Riders. After losing to Kings XI Punjab in Mohali, the team recovered by defeating the Rajasthan Royals, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Royal Challengers Bangalore three times in a row. The Super Kings won four of their next eight games against the Delhi Daredevils, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Kings XI Punjab while losing to the Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals, and Delhi Daredevils. The Super Kings finished the league stage in second place, behind the Sunrisers.

2. 2019

The Super Kings were the first group to earn a spot in the playoffs in 2019. They made it into the IPL final for the eighth time overall. The Mumbai Indians scored 149/8 in their 20 overs while batting first in the championship match. The Super Kings lost the championship after falling one run short of Mumbai’s final score of 148/7 in response. Imran Tahir of the Super Kings, the season’s top bowler with 26 wickets, was awarded the Purple Cap for taking the most wickets.

3. 2020

CSK signed Sam Curran ($5.5 crore), Josh Hazlewood ($2 crore), Piyush Chawla ($6.75 crore), and R. Sai Kishore ($20 lakh) prior to the 2020 IPL season. However, the IPL was postponed and moved to the UAE as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ruturaj Gaikwad and Deepak Chahar, two cricketers, tested positive for the coronavirus prior to the beginning of the season, which caused CSK to experience some early setbacks. Suresh Raina, the vice-captain and star batsman for CSK, and spinner Harbhajan Singh withdrew from the IPL for “personal reasons.”

Despite the losses, CSK began the season on a positive note by soundly defeating the defending champion Mumbai Indians in the first match. But after this, everything went downhill. CSK fell to the Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Capitals, and Sunrisers Hyderabad in their ensuing three games. An unexpected 10 wicket victory over the Kings XI Punjab followed that. The team then fell to the Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders in their following two games. After commenting that the team’s young players lacked the “spark” to be supported by the management, CSK captain MS Dhoni received harsh criticism from the fans and supporters over his performance and team selection.

4. 2021

Cheteshwar Pujara, a Test specialist, was acquired by CSK for a base price of Rs 50 lakh during the 2021 auctions, while Krishnappa Gowtham cost a staggering Rs 9.25 crore, making him the most expensive uncapped Indian purchase ever. Additionally, they paid Rs 7 crore to acquire English all-rounder Moeen Ali. For a base price of Rs 20 lakh each, CSK also acquired three other uncapped Indian athletes in Harishankar Reddy, Bhagath Varma, and Chezhian Harinishanth. Robin Uthappa, a player for the Rajasthan Royals, was also traded to the Super Kings.

CSK lost to the Delhi Capitals to start the 2021 season’s first leg. After that, they went on a five-match winning streak straight before losing to the Mumbai Indians. The COVID-19 pandemic’s second wave and an increase in COVID-19 positive cases in numerous team camps caused the IPL to be postponed. CSK defeated Delhi Capitals in Qualifier 1 to advance quickly to the finals for the ninth time in their history. To win their fourth IPL championship, CSK put on an all-around performance against KKR in the finals.

5. 2022

CSK became the country’s first unicorn sports organisation in January 2022. [4] For the IPL 2022, CSK unveiled their new uniform. Two days before the start of the season, on March 24, CSK declared that Ravindra Jadeja would take over as the team’s captain in place of MS Dhoni. Jadeja made the decision to step down as captain on April 30 in order to concentrate more on his play. The captain was once more chosen as MS Dhoni. CSK lost six of their first eight games while Jadeja served as captain. After losing to the Mumbai Indians, CSK was eliminated from the playoff race for the second time in their Ipl history.

Conclusion

Roar of the Lion is a documentary web series that Disney+ Hotstar created in 2019. The series came after the Chennai Super Kings’ 2018 season, which marked their return after serving a two-year suspension for their part in the Indian Premier League betting scandal of 2013. Players from the Chennai Super Kings, including MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Ambati Rayudu, Shane Watson, Dwayne Bravo, Deepak Chahar, and Suresh Raina, appeared in the series, which was filmed in Chennai, Mumbai, and Delhi in India as well as in Australia. The first series to be released under the name Hotstar Specials is this one. On March 20, 2019, the series’ Tamil and Hindi premiered.