In the Indian Premier League (IPL), Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Mumbai Indians (MI) have become synonyms of success as both teams have recorded unprecedented success to their names in the 16 years of the league. The Yellow Army under MS Dhoni will go to the upcoming edition of the T20 extravaganza as defending champions and the fans of the team will want the side to retain the trophy and bring joy to their faces again.
CSK’s success reveals that being disciplined in all departments of the game is essential for any side that wants to taste success in this sport. In Super Kings’ achievements, their bowling unit has made crucial contributions. In the past, legends such as Muttiah Muralitharan, Dwayne Bravo, Ravichandran Ashwin, Imran Tahir, Ashish Nehra, and Harbhajan Singh were part of this team. Ahead of the 2024 IPL, let’s revisit the five best bowling performances of CSK that make their fans jubilant.
Here are CSK's five greatest bowling performances of all time in IPL:
5. Imran Tahir’s 4/12 agsinst Delhi Capitals, 2019
CSK ended their journey as runners-up in 2019, losing to their arch-rivals MI in Hyderabad. However, Chennai fans got a lot of joyful moments from the season. Against Delhi Capitals (DC) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, the Men in Yellow registered a massive 80-run victory and won their sixth consecutive game in the league round.
Following that game, captain Dhoni won the Player of the Match award for his unbeaten 44 off 22 but Imran Tahir emerged as the unsung hero. The leg-break bowler registered 4/12 figures in the contest and helped his team defend a huge score of 179 comfortably. Tahir sent back Rishabh Pant cheaply and broke DC’s back. Later he also got rid of Axar Patel, Sherfane Rutherford, and Amit Mishra to fold DC on a mere 99 in 16.2 overs.
4. Ashish Nehra’s 4/10 against Royal Challengers Bangalore, 2015
Ashish Nehra played a couple of seasons for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) from 2014 to 2015 and in the latter season, he looked exceptional. Against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, he looked stupendous and guided CSK to a comfortable 27-run win.
On Bengaluru’s batting surface, CSK put up 181 runs on the board, and following the total, the Challengers’ batting never got settled as Nehra looked aggressive and put them on the back foot with the scalps of Manvinder Bisla and Rilee Rossouw. The speedster also dismissed dangerous Virat Kohli in the 17th over and paved the way for his team’s win. In the end, Nehra recorded 4/10 figures which became his best bowling performance in the league.
3. Ravindra Jadeja’s 5/16 against Deccan Chargers, 2012
Ravindra Jadeja became a part of CSK in 2012 after getting sold for INR 9.72 crores at the auction held in Bengaluru. In his debut season for Chennai, Jadeja recorded his best bowling innings against Deccan Chargers in Visakhapatnam. Winning the toss, Chargers’ skipper Cameron White invited CSK to bat first.
Riding on Jadeja’s 48 off 29 and Dwayne Bravo’s unbeaten 43 off 18, CSK posted 193 in their 20 overs. After being impressive with the bat, Jadeja assaulted the Chargers with the ball as well. In his four-over spell, the left-arm spinner splurged only 16 runs and picked up five wickets. His sensational all-round display helped CSK emerge victorious by 74 runs.
2. Doug Bollinger’s 4/13 against Deccan Chargers, 2010
In CSK’s maiden title win in 2010, former Australia pacer Doug Bollinger played a vital role. In the semi-final against the defending champions Deccan Chargers at the DY Patil Stadium, he took a four-wicket haul and helped his team qualify for the final.
CSK elected to bat first after winning the toss in the huge game and accumulated 142 runs on the board. Bollinger defended the low total courageously for Chennai and bundled out the Chargers on 104. In his four-over spell, the Aussie picked up the big wicket of Adam Gilchrist, who was the skipper of the Chargers.
1. Ravichandran Ashwin’s 3/16 against Royal Challengers Bangalore, 2011
CSK defended the title in 2011 and became the champions for the second time. In their second title win, India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin became their best bowler with 20 wickets in 16 games at a thrifty economy of 6.15. He also shone with the ball in the final against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Chennai.
Defending the humongous target of 206 at Chepauk, CSK needed only a disciplined bowling show to lift the trophy and Ashwin stepped up and fulfilled his team’s wish. He struck Challengers in the first over of the innings, dismissing dangerous Chris Gayle on a duck. In his next over, he also got Mayank Agarwal to create more pressure on Bangalore. Ashwin concluded his spell with 3/16 figures in four overs with Daniel Vettori’s wicket.
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