Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'CSK is the most formidable squad' that was published in Newsband

CSK is the most formidable squad

In the Indian Premier League, the victory of Chennai Super Kings was appreciated by one and all. Since the IPL’s inception in 2008, CSK has played seven finals. M.S. Dhoni’s men triumphed in three. All credit to skipper Dhoni.

Dhoni was undemonstrative even as he let his players display a gamut of emotions. The captain’s icy demeanour was worth watching. Dhoni and company did well to last the distance and get past Sunrisers Hyderabad, the team with the best bowling unit. Shane Watson’s pulse-pounding unbeaten 57-ball 117 in the final was impressive. Dhoni, Faf du Plessis, Lungi Ngidi, Ambati Rayudu, Dwayne Bravo and Suresh Raina had their moments during the tournament.

Skipper David Warner’s role in the ball-tampering crisis was stood down, but the good thing for SRH was that his replacement in the hot seat, Kane Williamson, led well besides striking in tandem with Shikhar Dhawan. Rashid Khan baggd 21 wickets, and he gave an excellent display of agility on the field. Afghanistan’s 19-year-old leg-spinner is one of the brightest talents in cricket today. The sudden retirement of South African A.B. de Villiers from international cricket came as a shock to his fans.  

CSK proved that they are the most consistent team in IPL. Watson's century knock made the final one sided. A brutal assault by Shane Watson proved sunset for Sunrises who failed to defend a winning total to help CSK emerge Super Kings at this year’s IPL. Brilliant undefeated 117 from Watson was perhaps this IPL edition’s best knock as his team sailed through in a one-sided final when it looked it would be a close contest at the start of the run chase. Maturity comes with age and the oldies won it for CSK led by M S Dhoni.

A tinge of luck always favours MS. Batting has more weightage than bowling in IPL. An overperforming batsman can continuously do so until he is out. But a performing bowler on the other hand has only limited overs to play with. That is what happened with all matches between CSK and SRH. Rayudu scored on 2 occasions, du plessis in qualifier and Watson in the final. As SRH is not a good batting side as compared to CSK; they couldn't triumph.

It is a shame that the final of IPL 2018 was not so nail biting. Anyway, kudos to MS and his team. CSK once again proved that age is only a number. As Dhoni rightly said that as long as a player is fit, no problem with the age. Fantastic performance by CSK. The roaring victory of CSK is laudable and Dhoni deserves every credit for his cool captaincy

It is strange that the names of teams in IPL have nothing to do with the places mentioned. Further while royals have been abolished long back, many teams carry a tag related to kings. It is more like baseball with the bat replacing club and ball of different make. It is more an entertainer than cricket in its pristine form. The short duration and the time of play suits people who cannot afford to be absent from their work for days.