3 similarities between CSK's IPL 2021 and IPL 2023 campaign

As the cliche goes, 'All teams fight among themselves to face the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the finals' of the IPL. Things haven't changed much in IPL 2023, as CSK once again made it to the final.

This time, they managed to do it by defeating the defending champions, table-toppers, and one of the title contenders, the Gujarat Titans, in Qualifier 1 at Chepauk.

This would be CSK's 10th IPL final appearance in 16 seasons (two of which they didn't play), which indicates one thing for sure: this team knows how to win big matches. Skipper MS Dhoni's captaincy tactics may look weird sometimes, but he knows what he is doing and knows something that we as fans are unaware of.

This season's campaign is very similar to that of the IPL 2021 campaign, where they managed to lift their fourth IPL title.

In this article, we will discuss the similarities between CSK's campaigns in 2021 and 2023 editions of the IPL.

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#3 Tales of a turnaround

CSK overcame difficulties in both these seasons [Image: IPL Twitter]

In IPL 2020, CSK, for the very first time, could not make it to the playoffs and found themselves in the 9th position in the table.

It came as a surprise to everyone, as previously, they had managed to reach at least the playoffs in every single season.

MS Dhoni himself admitted that the brand of cricket they were playing was outdated and that they were playing too many dot balls in the middle.

In the IPL 2021, they brought Moeen Ali into the mix and batted him in the top 3/4 to counter spinners up front, and had the rest of the batsmen counter pacers from the other end.

This decision changed the complexion of the team, as they reversed their results and qualified for the playoffs as the second-best team and later won the title.

Now, once again in IPL 2022, they, at one stage, languished in 9th place in the points table.

Now that teams had stopped feeding favorable spinners to Moeen Ali, the team's ultra-aggressive approach was proving to be a double-edged sword for them. They needed a batsman who could be the floater, aggressor, as well as the shield of the batting line-up in case of any collapse.

This brings Ajinkya Rahane into the picture in IPL 2023, and CSK gave him freedom at the top, which worked like a charm. This year too, CSK qualified for the playoffs as the second-best team in the table.

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#2 A sedate approach at the top

Despite their theory of going 'bang bang' in their batting approach, CSK decided to go with a sedate approach in Powerplay, losing the lowest number of wickets in that phase of the game.

In IPL 2021, they lost 17 wickets inside the powerplay throughout the season, looking to score an average of 40–45 runs per innings. This helped them post 180+ scores more often than not and thus win matches.

In 2023, they lost only nine wickets in the powerplay overs, despite scoring 145.24 runs on average. One of the main reasons behind this is their low number of sixes in this phase of the game.

The Chennai-based side has looked to play percentage cricket in both seasons.

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#1 Middle overs explosion

CSK have planned things well this season [Image: IPL Twitter]

Both IPL 2021 and 2023 saw CSK drastically change its approach in the middle overs compared to the previous seasons.

In IPL 2021, they always kept a combination of spin bashers - Suresh Raina and Moeen Ali - and pace hitters - Ambati Rayudu, Sam Curran, and Ravindra Jadeja - at the crease. Their SR of 131.48 was much better than 119.84 in IPL 2020.

In IPL 2023 also, they implemented their tried and tested formula, and the inclusion of Ajinkya Rahane made it work beautifully. This id unlike IPL 2022, where they got stuck against pacers in the middle.

This year, spin bashers Shivam Dube and Devon Conway have complimented the pace hitters exceptionally well, which reflects in their SR of 140.94 in that phase.