Under the captaincy of MS Dhoni, Chennai made it to the playoffs for a record 12th time.Image Credit source: PTI
New Delhi: Virat Kohli may have the most runs in the IPL, Virat Kohli may be the captain with the most titles but when it comes to consistency, there is only one name – MS Dhoni. Chennai Super Kings What the captain started from the very first IPL season of 2008, continued it even after all the troubles and ups and downs and once again proved in the IPL 2023 season that Dhoni has the ability to make things happen.
As soon as the last ball of Mahish Teekshana’s ball hit the Feroz Shah Kotla ground in Delhi at around 7.15 pm on Saturday, May 20, this season’s points table got registered in front of CSK’s name – Q. That means qualified. Qualified for playoffs. Chennai, playing for the 14th time in 16 seasons of IPL, made its place in the playoffs for a record 12th time.
Why is this playoff of CSK special?
By the way, even on the last 11 occasions when Chennai reached the playoffs, it was special for this team, its captain Dhoni and its fans. This time, however, the importance of the playoffs is more. There are many reasons, but it will be enough to tell two for the time being-
First, last season the team was quickly out of the playoff race and finished ninth. In such a situation, this story of return is very special. Second, every fan of Chennai must have a slight apprehension in their heart that this might not be the last season of their beloved ‘Thala’ ie Dhoni.
ability to bounce back from adversity
Apart from these two reasons, reaching the playoffs for Dhoni and Chennai is also special because this team, especially its captain, has again done what it has done many times in the last few seasons – coming back from difficulties. This was the team from Chennai, which was banned for 2 years. The team did not play the 2016 and 2017 seasons. The whole team was scattered. Dhoni himself was in Rising Pune Supergiants.
What happened then, everyone saw that. The return of Dhoni and Chennai in the 2018 season was not only very emotional, but also brought success. Under the captaincy of Dhoni, along with some old and many new faces, Chennai won the IPL title for the third time. In the next season as well, the team reached the finals again but had to face defeat from their most arch-rival Mumbai Indians.
Dhoni kept what he promised
The next season was again a shocker for Dhoni and CSK. In the era of Coronavirus, Dhoni broke the days of crores of fans by retiring from international cricket. Then what happened in IPL was shocking. For the first time in the history of IPL, Chennai became the first team to be eliminated. Dhoni then promised that his team would make a comeback and in 2021 he fulfilled this promise with a fourth title.
A similar promise was made by Dhoni last year as well, when again there was turmoil in the team and the situation was not good. Dhoni had already surprised by leaving the captaincy. Then under the leadership of Ravindra Jadeja, the team was out of the race after losing continuously. Dhoni then took command and promised to return. Now within 14 matches, Dhoni fulfilled this promise and proved it again – even today on the cricket field, anyone can make something untoward happen, then it is only MS Dhoni.
