Cool and effective: The enigma that is Chennai Super Kings

Since the beginning of the Indian Premier League in 2008, Chennai Super Kings have maintained the distinction of having qualified for the semi finals each time: the first edition saw them losing to Rajasthan Royals in a tense final, the second saw them crashing out to Royal Challengers in a semi final and the third time they upset favourites Mumbai Indians to lift the title. Now that the side has backed that up by winning the Champions League in South Africa, defeating South African champions and in many quarters the best team of the tournament, the Warriors convincingly, applauds of admiration and enigma are reserved for the captain and the rest.

Chennai Super Kings are world champions now, not for no reason

Enigma because of the ease with which the side conducts itself on and off the field. In the final, it was again the slow bowlers which coolly rescued the side after the opposition skipper Davey Jacobs went hammer and tongs atop the innings. Man of the series Ravichandran Ashwin and Muralitharan dried up the scoring so much so that at a point a run-a-ball score of 120 seemed a mountainous task for the Warriors. It was not the conditions so much, but the guile and experience of Muralitharan and the variations of Ashwin that Warriors were submissive about. The spinners shared five wickets between them and gave away only 32 runs in the eight total overs bowled by them that shifted the momentum permanently towards the Indian side. Throughout the tournament it was the slow bowlers who made the difference, the final was no different. Chennai Super Kings showed maturity and calmness like it has always done in tough situations in the past, and one believes it is MS Dhoni from whom the whole team has inherited the cool demeanour.

And it has always paid off. Pundits and fans have attributed the positive results to the luck factor. Yet, there must be more in the side that can gather that luck for so long now. What is it?

Perhaps the most noticeable quality of the side is its ability to be in control of their game. Even if the momentum is with other teams at certain phases in the match, the Super Kings would never lose its focus and try too hard, or give it up through despair. Dhoni comes up to the podium to give his post-match speech with a nice smile on his face always, a more noticeable one during victories. He and the team seems to know very well what to do, how to do and when to do it to achieve results.

Apart from talented Indians, he has of course had priced possessions in his side with the likes of big international stars like Albie Morkel, Andrew Flintoff (retired now), Michael Hussey, Matthew Hayden, Muttiah Muralitharan, Justin Kemp, Jacob Oram and Doug Bollinger for judging whom the term ‘match winners’ might be an understatement. As such, good results are always expected.

And Dhoni and his boys have never disappointed. The ‘yellow fever’ has this time caught the nation with this Champions League victory.

“‘It is a big moment. We are playing for the last time as a unit. We know some players will no longer be with us after the IPL auction. It is an emotional moment,” said Dhoni after the match, adding that even if the team bid for all of the present group, there is bound to be a difference in the squad.

Now, we know better than to think the captain would lose out on set plans and theories limited to his set of players and struggle to get combinations right or get results for whichever team he leads. He seems to do everything right, seemingly easelessly, which adds charms but raises eyebrows as well. Yet, that is the USP of Mahendra Singh Dhoni; his team is exactly a reflection of that, and probably will be in future.