CSK Win Again -- A Remarkable Turnaround IPL 2021

 

CSK won the IPL title for 2021 , I would say with ease .. But winning with ease was not mostly expected based on what happened during the previous season. The Dad s army had not qualified for the Knock outs , the team looked out of sorts and the team was just not competitive.. And one knows in sport , once you are knocked off the pedestal , how difficult it is to climb back to glory. It takes enormous effort to rebuild –It was an amazing turnaround – Did they change too many things … No not really. They just stuck to the same team ( mostly ) , relied on experience , did not do too much data analysis , built relationships , gave freedom to the players and allowed them to deliver building enormous trust and credibility and making the team so bonded and fierce. 

Did they make big changes to the team ?  They let go of few players ( Vijay / Watson and that man Kedar Jadav and Bhajji as well ) – Traded in and brought in Robin Utthappa – Splurged 9.25 INR on K Gowtham and another 7 crores on Moeen Ali and some small payments for other players.. No big ticket guys…. And K Gowtham did not play a single match ( he fielded in the final )  They bought Pujara for 50 Lakhs ( wonder why ? )   One would have expected several changes but not CSK – They kept their confidence on a mix of Youngsters and very experienced players. Most CSK fans would have not been happy with the buys that they made for 2021 but they backed their team with support and belief . 

When the 2021 season started in India ( broken up by the second COVID wave ) , the signs were ominous .  Playing away from home  ( Chepauk ), the team started well – Getting a jump start was important to succeed and put the failures of the previous season  behind was  key.. They just did exactly that . So , when the season was halted , they were in Pole position to get to the Qualifiers.

 

The openers – Ruturaj and Faf – were a key reason for the success of the team. Ruturaj winning the Orange cup and Faf a very close second. Between them they scored more than 50 % of the runs that CSK made in the tournament. Ruturaj was a revelation. Consistency , ease of playing , taking responsibility and a cool head are his amazing strengths.  He has so much time to play the ball and when one can do that , it is jus the right temperament that is needed. And Ruturaj had plenty to offer. Faf was as good as ever . Wonder why Faf is not in the South Africa World cup team . And their fielding and catching was a big plus point

 

Moeen Ali was a great add—He could swing his bat with freedom , get some quick runs and bowl his neutral spinners ( I do not consider him an off spinner ) and get wickets too , which is always a bonus

 

Suresh Raina came back but after one good start faded away—Think he is done with CSK and cricket. It was here that Robin Uthappa came in and joined the party. Scored runs at crucial times and in good strike rate.

 

Bowling was suspect – Chahar was good on Indian conditions but  in the UAE leg , he just could not find his swing – So were others like Boult and Southee. Josh Hazelwood was good but again in patches . Bravo was the death bowler as usual . Jaddu delivered when it mattered .  They managed somehow to keep the opposition down.  Two walloping’s at the hands of Royals and Punjab made the bowling look  very ordinary.  But one guy kept making a difference .. That was Shardul – Shardul can be totally unreliable but with the same unreliability , he will pick wickets ..  And most times , it will be back to back and that can be destructive in the T 20 format. With runs on the board , defending a total was a good option for CSK at all times.

 

The team did not experiment at all. More or less they went in with the same team—They found the balance and did not want to change it. That worked well for this team

 

Key was the astute leadership of MSD.. Field placings , creating and maintaining pressure , calm under all situations—What a leader he has been for this Franchise … Other Franchises have changed their Captains , coaches and so on… But this common factor along with the Coach Fleming and support staff was a big recipe  for success . His batting has waned , have no doubts about it . But his keeping continues to be good –  This season , it was pain to see him bat. Mistimes shots , hits with no timing at all  and getting cleaned up very easily was his batting performance. But he did produce his sheer brilliance in the Qualifier against Delhi and it was a match winning one. Under pressure , Dhoni came ahead of Jadeja raising many a eyebrow. But he took CSK home in his normal style and that one performance was enough of him as a batter for the team. Nothing else needed.  

 

Wonderful consistent performance on big occasions have helped CSK regain the IPL – And as I say , it is tough to get back to the top . And more tough to remain at the top.

It will be a very interesting 2022 season with additional teams in the fray , auction ….. And where will Dhoni be…

 

Hopefully , he comes to Chepauk and does play a farewell match and being there to see him in action that time will be an awesome moment—