Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have been among the foremost iconic T20 groups in the world since the beginning of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2008. The fan following and the cherish which they have gotten might too because their captain, MS Dhoni, is one of the foremost renowned and acknowledged cricketers around the globe.
Until Mumbai Indians started to challenge them, CSK was the foremost successful group. CSK have won five IPL trophies (2010, 2011, 2018, 2021, and 2023) and two now-defunct CLT20s (2010 and 2014). However, the establishment, which is claimed by India Cements, remains one of the strongest sides within the Indian Premier League and has a few extraordinary records.
1. Winning the IPL and CLT20 in the same year, followed by another IPL trophy
It all started in 2010 when IPL returned to India after a break in 2009, a season that was the first to be held entirely outside the country. After performing well in the competition, CSK were in a position where they had to win their final league match to qualify for the semi-finals. MS Dhoni played an innings of the ages to guide his team into the knockout stages. And the rest was history as the CSK won their first IPL trophy.
Later the same year, the best teams of the T20 competitions across the globe arrived in South Africa to play the Champions League T20. CSK proved to be the champion in that tournament as well.
In the next IPL season (IPL 2011), the defending champions CSK retained their IPL trophy and became the first team to win IPL trophies in successive seasons.
Although Mumbai Indians later won the IPL trophy and CLT20 trophy in the same year, in 2013, they couldn't win the IPL 2014.
2. Ten successive playoff qualifications
MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings has several chapters of success and glory. In 2008, when the eight original teams were revealed, only the Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings didn’t have an icon player among them. CSK made the highest bid for any player in the auction when they bought Dhoni for INR 6 crores (not adjusted as per inflation).
They built a team around him and over the years, we have seen CSK making just minor changes here and there and continuing their successful journey. What is quite remarkable is the number of times we have seen them in the finals or at least in the last four. Between 2008 and 2020, Chennai played ten seasons (missed 2016 and 2017 due to a suspension) and managed to qualify for the playoffs/semi-finals each and every time.
3. The lowest score successfully defended in IPL
This story is from the IPL 2009 when Chennai Super Kings were playing against Kings XI Punjab (presently Punjab Kings) in Durban. Batting first, Chennai found it truly troublesome to induce runs rapidly. Parthiv Patel, who opened the batting for Chennai, oversaw a 23-ball 32, after which CSK’s back nearly broke. A few tight bowling implied that Dhoni's men had only 116 within the pack (116/9).
However, on a moderate surface, Dhoni utilized his spinners very wonderfully and pulled this triumph. Ravichandran Ashwin, Muttiah Muralitharan, and Suresh Raina bowled 12 overs together, finishing with figures of 2 for 13, 2 for 8, and 2 for 17, respectively. Their bowling performances permitted CSK to limit KXIP to only 92 runs in their 20 overs (92/8). This to date, remains the lowest IPL total ever defended (excluding shorter games).
4. Most wickets in a season by any bowler
In 2013, when Dwayne Bravo arrived at the IPL to continue his journey for CSK, he was already the West Indies ODI captain, but his reputation at the Chennai Super Kings team was slightly different from what he had to do for his national team. CSK captain MS Dhoni used him more as a death bowler in the format.
The right-arm medium pacer Bravo was a clever bowler who knew how to use the variations. He ended the IPL 2013 with a new tournament record of 32 wickets. In fact, Bravo was the first bowler to reach the 30-wicket mark in an IPL season. His record is still intact, while later, Royal Challengers Bangalore's Indian pacer Harshal Patel leveled that record during the IPL 2021 (32 wickets).
5. Captain with most matches for a team
Chennai Super Kings have gone with three regular captains till the IPL 2024. However, legendary MS Dhoni has led for almost one and a half decades, where the team has achieved huge success. Dhoni has led CSK for 212 IPL matches. He is the only captain to lead a team for more than 200 IPL matches.
As Rohit Sharma (158 matches) and Virat Kohli (143 matches) have ended their IPL captaincies, Dhoni is surely holding the record for most matches as a captain for an IPL team for many years
