MS Dhoni led CSK to their third title in IPL 2018.
Seven years ago, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) scripted a fabulous comeback story in the Indian Premier League (IPL). After facing a two-year ban, CSK won the trophy in IPL 2018. MS Dhoni was the skipper of the side during their quest for the third IPL title in that season.
Ahead of IPL 2018, CSK was suspended from the previous two editions, 2016 and 2017. The spot-fixing scandal by Rajasthan Royals (RR) players in IPL 2013 shook the entire cricketing world. Also, some CSK owners were found guilty of their involvement in betting.
As a result, the Supreme Court-appointed Lodha committee suspended both RR and CSK for two seasons- IPL 2016 and IPL 2017. Two new teams, Gujarat Lions and Rising Pune Supergiants, were formed to replace both teams for the next two seasons.
However, CSK and RR made a comeback in the IPL 2018 edition after completing their ban. Also, Gujarat Lions and Rising Pune Supergiants were disbanded after the 2017 season. A mega auction took place ahead of the season, and Chennai Super Kings retained their core members- MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, and Ravindra Jadeja in their squad.
CSK’s journey to the IPL 2018 final
Dhoni, who had led CSK from 2008 to 2015, took the reins of the side once again in IPL 2018. Super Kings beat arch-rival Mumbai Indians (MI) by 1 wicket in their opening game. They made a dominating start to the tournament, winning four games out of the first five matches.
At the end of the league stage, Super Kings finished in the second spot in the points table with 18 points. They won nine games and lost five matches out of 14 encounters. Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) topped the points table with an equal number of points, but had a slightly better Net Run Rate (NRR).
In the nail-biting Qualifier 1, the MS Dhoni & Co. outplayed SRH by two wickets. CSK bowlers showed fabulous teamwork to restrict SRH to 139/7 in the first innings. Carlos Brathwaite was the top run-getter for his team with his unbeaten 43 runs off 29 balls.
During the chase, CSK lost many key batters for single digits. However, opener Faf du Plessis kept his patience on one end and slammed an unbeaten 67 runs. He powered the team to victory in the final over as CSK booked a berth in the final.
The final triumph against SRH
Like Qualifier 1, Chennai Super Kings crushed Sunrisers like a walk in the park in the IPL 2018 Final. This time, SRH displayed brilliant batting. With 47 runs by skipper Kane Williamson and an unbeaten 45 runs by Yusuf Pathan, SRH piled up 178/6 in the first innings.
However, it was not enough to halt the men in yellow from victory. CSK opener Shane Watson (117*) slammed an impeccable century to drive the team to victory in the 19th over. The MS Dhoni & Boys won the match convincingly by eight wickets. Hence, they made a spectacular comeback to the tournament and won their third title in IPL history.
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