The Chennai Super Kings have been the only team in the Indian Premier League to make it to the semi-finals in all three seasons. The Super Kings have some big hitters and all-rounders in their side, and this makes them one of the most formidable side of the IPL. Many call their bowling a weak link, but nobody can win every time just with the willow.
Let’s take look at their journey to the final in 2010:
Match 1: The Super Kings did not have start they wanted. Chasing a target of 190 runs against the Deccan Chargers, Chennai fell short of by 31 runs.
Match 2: Playing at the Eden Gardens, Chennai scored 164 runs with the help of MS Dhoni’s 66 runs off 33 balls. While defending, the Chennai bowlers went for initial beating but they came back well to bowl out the Kolkata Knight Riders to record a 55-run win. It was their first win of the Season 3.
Match 3: Virender Sehwag had powered Delhi to 185 runs with the help of 74 runs in 20 overs. Matthew Hayden with his little weapon thrashed the bowlers during his 43-ball 93 runs. Raina later did the finishing job as Chennai went past the total with 5 balls to spare.
Match 4: One of the most thrilling encounters of the IPL 3, the match between Chennai and Punjab was really a clash of the Kings. The Chennai Super Kings lost to Kings XI in the Super Over with Yuvraj Singh playing the wrecker-in-chief. Indeed a Super finish!
Match 5: Chennai’s failed to stop the on-fire Bangalore with a not so lethal bowling, with Uthappa leading the assault.
Match 6: Suresh Raina and S Badrinath batted well to take Chennai to 180, but with Sachin Tendulkar on the other side, the total did not look big enough. The Mumbai Master along with Shikhar Dhawan took Mumbai to an easy win.
Match 7: MS Dhoni may have returned from injury, but his return could not change fortunes for CSK as they once again fell short chasing, this time by 17 runs. Albie Morkel’s fireworks came a little too late for them
Match 8: After three back-to-back defeats, Super Kings finally ended their losing streak after beating Bangalore by five wickets. Murali Vijay played the most important role in the win.
Match 9: Murali Vijay made the highest individual score of 127 to take Chennai to a huge total of 246 against the Rajasthan Royals. Australian pacer Doug Bollinger made his IPL debut and contributed in his sides’ win.
Match 10: It was the return match against Mumbai and with score of 164 runs on the board, it seemed the past will repeat itself. But R Ashwin, Shadab Jakati restricted the Mumbai Indians to snatch a win.
Match 11: While it did not happen against Mumbai, Chennai lost their second game against Deccan Chargers. The batters let Chennai down, scoring just 138 runs. Chargers finally thumped them by 6 wickets.
Match 12: Chennai spinners R Ashwin and Shadab Jakati bundled out the Knight Riders for a paltry 139 runs. Chasing the target, Murali Vijay and Suresh Raina led Super Kings to a 9-wicket win.
Match 13: Chennai needed a win but it was not to be. After scoring 112 runs for 9 wickets, Super Kings tried well to defend. But the total was too small to defend and they lost by 6 wickets.
Match 14: After losing home match to Punjab in Chennai, the Super Kings went to a picturesque venue of Dharamsala for the return match. It was also the do-or-die clash for Chennai as a loss would have dashed their semi-final hopes. Chasing a big total of 192 runs, Chennai were rocked by the quick dismissals of Matthew Hayden and Murali Vijay. Raina and Badrinath consolidated the innings but could last long. Skipper Dhoni hit the ball out of the ground twice in the last over to lead his team to the semi-finals with the help of an unbeaten 54.
Semi-Final: Having lost both their league matches against the defending champions Deccan Chargers, the stats were definitely not backing the Super Kings. But the wheel of fortune moved in favour of Dhoni and Co. Chennai scored 143 runs. The bowling pair of Doug Bollinger and R Ashwin stunned the Chargers with their swing and spin respectively and bundled them out for 104 runs. With the 38-run win, Chennai made it to the Final against Mumbai.
