Players are often what you make of them.
Chennai Super Kings faced a lot of criticism for picking Shane Watson at the auction. The seemingly over-the-hill 36-year-old former Australia all-rounder had floundered for Royal Challengers Bangalore last season and many thought he was past his sell-by date.
But then, Super Kings and M.S. Dhoni comprehended the powerfully built Watson’s value. The Aussie still had it in him to knock the cover off the ball. He could attack the pacemen with the cut and the pull, essay the big drives down the ground, and bludgeon the ball over the ropes for the maximum.
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Fire in the belly
Here was a big match player who had to be given the time and space to construct an innings and then launch into the bowling. Dhoni got Watson to open the innings and the Aussie’s brutal onslaught on the Sunrisers Hyderabad attack in the final underlined the success of the ploy.
Watson rollicked his way to two hundreds in the season. Crucially, one of them arrived in the summit clash.
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Tactically, CSK got many things right in its triumphant campaign. Dhoni, gradually, built a dynamic, flexible side that possessed a key ingredient — balance.
Employing Ambati Rayudu as a floater was again a master-stroke by Dhoni. The little batsman is not short on ability but is a confidence player. By giving him responsibility and an assured spot in the XI, Dhoni also worked on the mind of Rayudu who was one of the first players to arrive for training before IPL-11 started.
When the Hyderabad batsman fired, CSK found another match-winner. The trick was in transforming his mental make-up.
One of the challenges before Dhoni this season was to manage the bowling attack. The lack of depth in the pace-bowling reserves was a major area of concern, and the side gradually plugged the holes.
Deepak Chahar’s emergence as a swing bowler with control added to Chennai’s arsenal, the skipper’s faith in him coming to the fore again. Ravindra Jadeja was another player whom Dhoni backed.
Lungi Ngidi, the young, explosive paceman from South Africa, was used brilliantly by Dhoni, both at the beginning and at the end.
Finally, even as Dwayne Bravo went for runs in the second half of the competition, CSK found in Ngidi a bowler it could rely upon in the death overs.
Dhoni did not shy away from tough selection calls. The experienced off-spinner Harbhajan Singh was left out for the final and leg-spinner Karn Sharma included in the eleven.
The move paid off as Karn got the crucial wicket of Kane Williamson, the Orange Cap winner.
The skipper’s field placements — the way he narrowed the angles and created opportunities — were brilliant. He had to get it right in an ageing side with not many fast movers. Dhoni’s management of overs was spot on too.
His own batting — the manner he expanded his game on the off-side — was often breathtaking.
The side found match-winners, whether it was Dhoni himself, Watson, Bravo, Faf du Plessis, or Sam Billings whenever the chips were down.
Forced to play its home matches away from home, CSK was home and dry in the end.