The Official Chennai Super Kings Supporters Thread!!!!

[IndianRenegade]

Super Kings drub Punjab to enter final in style Super Kings drub Punjab to enter final in style

Mumbai, May 31: Chennai Super Kings defied all odds, kept their composure, to pull off a stunning nine-wicket win against hot favourites Kings XI Punjab to enter the final of the Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament at the Wankhede Stadium, here tonight. The Super Kings take on Rajasthan Royals in the final here on Sunday night. Punjab team skipper Yuvraj Singh won the toss and decided to bat first, but the decision backfired as the Super Kings bowlers, led by pacemen Makhaya Ntini and Manpreet Gony bowled brilliantly to peg their opponents to 112. The Super Kings then ticked off the required runs without undue worry and despite the early loss of opener Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan as Parthiv Patel (51 not out) and Suresh Raina (55) then took charge to take the Chennai team over the finish line with an unbroken century partnership in the 15th over. Incidentally, it was their third straight win over the Punjab team whom they had beaten twice in the league as the Super Kings showed great character to not only withstand the pressure of a big match but also played smarter cricket to emerge deserving winners. Raina and and Patel were rarely in trouble against a set of bowlers who were more keen on containment given the small total they were defending. The approach played into the hands of the batsmen. Raina, in particular, looked the more solid and came up with several pleasing strokes while Patel, despite appearing a bit shaky at times, lent him excellent support. And once he got his eye in, Patel matched his partner stroke for stroke. The pair added 102 runs for the unfinished second wicket off just 72 deliveres to provide a fitting climax to a game that the Super Kings virtually sewed up in the first 10 overs. Earlier, the spotlight was on the Super Kings bowlers as Ntini struck in his very first over when he induced a nick from James Hopes for a simple catch to Patel. The early reverse shook up the Kings XI and when they lost Kumar Sangakkara and Yuvraj in quick succession, both falling to Gony. The Super Kings delivered the biggest blow when Nitini bowled the batsman in form, Shaun Marsh (23) who looked rather uncomfortable against the South African fast bowler. In fact, Marsh’s only six was a top-edge off an Ntini short ball and the league’s hightest scorer never got going tonight. And when Irfan Pathan was tragically run out a few moments later, attempting a third run, the Kings XI were reduced to 40 for five after 8.2 overs. The Mohali team could never really recover from these stunning reverses. Although Wilkin Mota and Ramesh Powar came up with a few big shots at the fag end of the innings, they could not break the stranglehold that the Super Kings exerted from the start. The Super Kings made one change, bringing in Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan for Stephen Fleming at the top of the batting order, as did the Punjab team by including Wilkin Mota in the middle-order.

[IndianRenegade]

It was a great team effort, says Dhoni It was a great team effort, says Dhoni

Mumbai, May 31: Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni attributed the nine-wicket semi-final victory against the Kings XI Punjab to team effort as the Chennai Super Kings made it to the final of the Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament, here tonight. “I thought we bowled really well at the start and then batted equally well. Our fielding too has improved. Overall, it was a great team effort,†said Dhoni after the game. Dhoni played tributes to Makhaya Ntini, who was later adjudged Man of the Match, for providing the early breakthroughs. “We bowled in the right areas and our fielders too supported them tonight. Then Raina and Parthiv Patel came up with a fine partnership,†said Dhoni. Looking ahead to Sunday night’s final against Rajasthan Royals, Dhoni said: “We will go back tonight, sleep well and get up in the morning fresh for the final. It’s tough, but that’s the way the schedule is.†He admitted that he felt the pressure of a big match and also the high expectations on him, but preferred not to show it. “Of course, I feel the pressure, but I don’t show it because when I walk up to the bowler, he should not see a tense captain. So, I try to hide it, but the pressure is always there,†Dhoni said. Makhaya Ntini, on his part, felt happy at his performance, though he sought to downplay his contribution. “Everything went well for me tonight and I had some good support from the fielders too,†said the South African fast bowlers. Suresh Raina and Parthiv Patel, who were involved in the century partnership, said that they just played their “natural game†and did not try anything different. Raina said: “Before we started our innings, we decided to play our natural game and treat tonight’s match like just another outing. Basically, we wanted to just go out there an enjoy ourselves.â€

[IndianRenegade]

Super Kings hope to spring a Royal surprise Super Kings hope to spring a Royal surprise

Mumbai, June 1: It has been an amazing journey for the Chennai Super Kings who lost four key players and yet made it to the final of the Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament. And you cannot hold it against them if they are hoping to wrap up their campaign with a “super†win tonight against the Rajasthan Royals. Virtually written off a bunch of no-hopers among the semi-finalists they were thought to be uninvited guests to the party, given their negative Net Run Rate. However, undeterred by such talk and theories, the Super Kings carved their own path to the final that was marked by splendid team effort. Indeed, tonight, they will be worthy opponents to the Royals who would yet again begin as piping hot favourties, something that would suit the Super Kings who have preferred to maintain a low profile and let their performance speak for them. Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni rightly pointed out that the past results mattered little in a format such as the T20, but rather, the performance on the day counted. And so it turned out against the Mohali team that boasted of an awesome batting line-up backed by a strong bowling attack. If anything, the Super Kings extended their unbeaten streak against the Kings XI to three in a manner that that suggests that they are more than ready to take on the Royals, beate them and lift the IPL trophy tonight. The Royals have been riding the big wave of success through the tournament, winning 11 matches in a row after starting off with two defeats. They went down to the Kings XI in their final league game that they treated lightly by resting all their key players before scoring a crushing win against the Delhi Daredevils in the semi-finals on Friday night. On paper, the Royals appear invincible, but then, so did the Kings XI and the Daredevils, both of whom boasted an enviable line-up of stars and proven performers. But on the big stage, they allowed the nerves to get the better of them. In contrast, the Super Kings and Royals stood up better to the big match pressure to emerge deserving winners. Indeed, one could say that the two teams that have played smarter cricket would now contest for the big prize. Tonight, both Dhoni and his Royals counterpart Shane Warne who has been a revelation in the IPL with his leadership qualities, would going head to head in a contest that will throw up their contrasting styles of captaincy. While Warne has been the more “visible†of the two, Dhoni has been the “captain coolâ€, keeping his emotions in check while marshalling his resources with equal dexterity and guile as the Aussie superstar. In the event, one suspects the contest could boil down to a couple of key players. The Royals would be looking up to their opener Graeme Smith (if he is fit to play), Shane Watson and the big-htting Yusuf Pathan to provide them the momentum in batting, while ranging against them are Suresh Raina, Dhoni and Albie Morkel besides Parthiv Patel who seems to have run into good form at the right time. In bowling, it will be yet again a fascinating duel between Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan, the world’s leading wicket-taker in Tests. Of the two, Warne has been among the top wicket takers in the tournament while Murali has been at his restrictive best, focusing on containment rather than taking wickets. For sure, the two will have a major role to play tonight as also Sohail Tanvir, Watson and Munaf Patel for Royals and Makhaya Ntini and Manpreet Gony for Super Kings. Overall, both the teams appear well-matched with the Royals enjoying a psychological advantage of having beaten Super Kings in both their meetings in the league phase. When the two first met in Jaipur, Tanvir took 6 for 14 to bundle out the Super Kings for 109. In the next meeting in Chennai, Royals made 211 for five and the hosts replied with 201 for seven. But it would be different tonight. The occasion is far bigger, the stakes higher, the expectations so much more and the pressure would be a factor that cannot be dismissed. While the Super Kings have shown rare character to eyeball their opponents and wrestle them to ground, the Royals, bubbling with energy and intensity, have outslugged their opponents in the run to the final. The stage is thus set for a thrilling finale that would be won by the team that does not blink first.

[IndianRenegade]

Royals squeak through with last ball win Royals squeak through with last ball win

Mumbai, June 1: The Rajasthan Royals snatched an exciting, heart-stopping last ball win by three wickets over the Chennai Super Kings in the final of the inaugural Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament, here tonight. After winning the toss and restricting the Super Kings to 163 for five, the Royals just about crossed the finish line, thanks in the main to a brilliant half-century by Yusuf Pathan whose 56 and also three wickets for 22 eventually made the difference between victory and defeat. The Royals, needing eight off the final over, came through in a thrilling finish with two non-specialist batsmen, skipper Shane Warne and Sohail Tanvir at the crease. The high-flying Royals though did not enjoy a good start as they lost opener Niraj Patel early with the batsman inside-edging Gony on to his stumps in the fourth over. Encouraged by the early success, the Super Kings kept at it and struck a double blow in the seventh over. Morkel had Swapnil Asnodkar caught at backward of point by Raina with his very first delivery and off the fourth, Kamran Akmal was run out by a brilliant direct hit by Ntini fielding at mid-on as the batsman attempted a single. The two wickets in an over put the Super Kings right on top. In his next over, Morkel struck Yusuf Pathan on the helmet and the ball lobbed behind and Parthiv Patel appealed for a caught behind, but umpire Billy Bowden remained unmoved nor did he signal a leg-bye! Pathan restored balance as he slammed Balaji for three boundaries in the 10th over as the Royals reached 75 for three at the half-way mark at which stage Dhoni introduced Muralitharan into the attack. The move almost paid off with Pathan (13 off 76) lofting the off-spinner, but Raina, covering considerable ground, failed to hang on to the skier. It was to prove a costly lapse, for Pathan blasted Murali for two huge sixes in the 13th to bring up the 100 of the innings and take Royals closer to the target. Gony then dropped a return catch to provide Pathan (33) another reprieve. But in the next over, the 15th, Muralitharan bowled Watson (28) and the Super Kings were back in the game. Watson and Pathan had added 65 runs for the fourth wicket and their partnership was assuming dangerous proportions. Pathan then took charge, hoisting a couple of sixes as did Md Kaif who however, perished, charging Muralitharan to be bowled in the 17th over. The Super Kings struck yet again as Morkel sent back Ravindra Jadeja in the 18th, caught by Dhoni for a first ball duck. More drama was to follow as Pathan also departed, run out by Raina’s brilliant throw in the 18th over as the game inched towards a thrilling climax with Shane Warne and Sohail Tanvir at the crease. The Royals took 10 runs off the 19th over bowled by Ntini and it meant they needed eight off the 20th bowled by Balaji who had gone for 34 runs in his previous three overs. Amidst tension, the Royals tied the scores as Tanvir ran a two and then slammed a boundary off the final delivery to clinch victory. Earlier, the Super Kings enjoyed a fairly decent start with Vidyut and Parthiv Patel scoring at a good clip. Vidyut was the more adventurous and looked to be in good nick as he came up with some bold shots, including a six off Watson before holing out to Jadeja, pulling Pathan. Jadeja did well to covert the half chance as he had to move forward and dive to get to the ball. In fact, it was Pathan who did the most damage as he also claimed the wickets of Patel who was caught behind by Akmal and then the dangerous Morkel who edged to the wicketkeeper just as he was looking dangerous with a couple of sixes. However, to the Super Kings credit, they did not ease off as Raina, who has been in tremendous form, yet again came good with a cameo innings of 43 that saw him bringing off several sparkling strokes. In fact, so long as Raina occupied the crease, the Super Kings looked well on way to a big total, but Watson, coming in for his second spell, achieved a major breakthrough. Raina, attempting a big hit, sent the ball straight to Jadeja who accepted a comfortable catch. Raina’s departure was a huge blow for the Super Kings who would have been eyeing a 180-plus target. The Chennai innings failed to gain the kind of momentum that would have taken them closer to the 200-mark, as neither Dhoni nor Chamara were able to get on top of the bowling batting together for the fifth wicket. Overall, the Royals bowlers did a fine job of keeping their rival batsmen on a leash. So much so that the Chennai team’s biggest over was the 20th when they took 15 off Tanvir with Dhoni clouting the Pakistani fast bowler for a six and a boundary. The Super Kings thus put 163 runs on the board that gave their bowlers something to work with.

[IndianRenegade]

Crucial mistakes cost us the game: Dhoni Crucial mistakes cost us the game: Dhoni

Mumbai, June 2: An obviously disappointed Mahendra Singh Dhoni admitted that a few mistakes, especially a couple of dropped catches, at crucial junctures cost his team, the Chennai Super Kings, the final match against the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament, here last night. Speaking to the Media after the Super Kings lost by three wickets, the decision coming in the final ball of the game, Dhoni said: “I am quite happy that our team made it to the finals. We did suffer a few defeats along the way, but then we bounced back each time. Tonight, we came quite close to winning the final, but we made mistakes in the field, dropping catches.” Dhoni was referring to the two caches that were dropped off Man of the Match Yusuf Pathan when he was on 13 and 33. Pathan went on to complete a half-century and his big-hitting put the Royals back in the game after loss of early wickets had put them under pressure. Quite typically, Dhoni took the defeat in his stride saying that winning and losing was part of sport. “We can now learn from our mistakes and come back stronger next season. More importantly, the close finish was a wonderful way to complete the IPL and I am sure the public would have enjoyed the game tonight,” he said. He admitted that the loss of three key players Matthew Hayden, Jacob Oram and Mike Hussey after the Super Kings won their first four matches, and then the departure of Stephen Fleming on the eve of the semi-finals, did hurt Super Kings. “But that presented an opportunity for others in the team to perform. I am happy that the younger players in the team did extremely well. I also would like to thank those cricketers in our team who never got to play a single game, but yet offered total support at all times. It has been a great experience for me to lead some top players from other countries, and I am sure, we will be much better next season,” said Dhoni. Incidentally, the Super Kings won the Kingfisher Fairplay Trophy while Shane Watson of the Rajasthan Royals won the Man of the Series award for his all-round display and young Sreevats Goswami of Royal Challengers was presented the Under-19 award for his performances.

[IndianRenegade]

IPL – changing the face of cricket IPL – changing the face of cricket

Truth to tell, the Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament has been rather addictive and over the past six weeks, it has had hundreds of converts who had initially viewed the supposedly slam-bang stuff with some skepticism. But with daily telecasts, plenty of sixes and fours, thrilling finishes and some memorable individual performances, the IPL did catch on and how! And now, it would take some getting used to spending the evenings without the IPL action. On April 18, there was justifiable apprehension about the success of the tournament when the Kolkata Knight Riders took on the Royal Challengers at the M Channaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. But then, Brendon McCullum provided the kind of start that had all the eight teams salivating and the Kiwi opener dished out fireworks in the course of his century that set the ball rolling in the IPL On Sunday, June 1, at the DY Patil Staidum in Mumbai, the Chennai Super Kings and the Rajasthan Royals scripted a near-perfect finish to the IPL with the Jaipur team winning the trophy on the last ball of the match. The IPL brought together top players from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the West Indies to play alongside their Indian counterparts in a fantastic mix-and-match environment. To top it, the rules requiring the inclusion of home grown talent in the form of Indian Under-19 players besides those from the region of the franchise lent a different dimension to the IPL. Thus, in more ways than one, the IPL has been a trend setter, taking cricket to a new level while offering a platform for the cream of World’s cricketing talent to showcase their ability. Of course, there is scope for further fine-tuning as the 2008 edition was a learning curve for just about everyone, including the organisers themselves. Even as the IPL showered riches on the players, given the unprecedented salaries, there are strong indications that other cricketing nations are keen on launching their own leagues. In this context, the IPL has been a trail-blazer. It is still early days yet and it remains to be seen whether other nations would be as successful as India or even able to match the IPL in size and financial backing. There are already talks about having two IPL in a calendar year, but the IPL commissioner Lalit Modi was spot on when he rejected such thoughts saying the league needs to be nurtured and developed before it could be expanded by way of additional teams or frequency. For the Chennai Super Kings, it was a memorable run to the final after suffering some shock defeats along the way. However, when it mattered most, the Super Kings got their act together, especially in the semi-finals against the Kings XI Punjab when the Chennai outfit, ably led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, turned on the heat with a brilliant team effort. If anything, on the basis of performances in the 2008 IPL, there is bound to a revaluation of players as the franchises themselves would be keen to revisit their decisions on player choice. This year, just about everyone was racing against time and mistakes do happen when decisions are taken in haste. However, at the end of it all, it was one big party that attracted unprecedented viewership and that in turn provided the final seal of approval to the IPL. Lalit Modi, during his speech on the eve of the final, admitted that mistakes were made, but then these would be rectified for the next season. The purists might remain unconvinced that T20 is the way forward, but for the huge paying public and the cricketers themselves, the IPL was a manna from heaven in more ways than one. - A.R. Ramakrishnan

[Dinx - the Jinx]

Tamil ratham thaan, ini yudham thaan, make way for Chennai Super Kings... The recently concluded auction for 2nd edition of IPL and the news that Chennai has bagged Freddie has me too excited... I feel the IPL fever catching up already... I started searching for the lyrics of the CSK theme song. Couldn't find it anywhere on the net. So, wrote it down myself.. here we go... =========================== Boys and girls - come out and play... Gonna make him follow, you lead the way... say S.U.P.E.R K.I.N.G.S Dhil irukku, dhum irukku, yediriyai adchi pudchi odchi norukku... say S.U.P.E.R K.I.N.G.S Idhu Chennai Chennai Super Kings... Namma Yellow Jersey endrum wins... Dilloda adippoam, Thrilloada adippoam - Vetri kodugalai Chennai than pidippoam... yey yey yey Idhu Chennai Chennai Super Kings... Namma Yellow Jersey endrum wins... Super Kings, Super Kings... Dilloda adippoam, Thrilloada adippoam - Vetri kodugalai Chennai than pidippoam... yey yey yey Idhu Chennai Super Kings... Adi thanaey... Idhu vinnai muthamidum... Idi thaney... Oh ohh oh ohh... oh ohh oh ohhh... Oh ohh oh ohh... oh ohh oh ohhh... Will Power Vizhiyae... Winners naam vidhiyae... Veeram Theeram idhu vizhayaadum vazhiyae... Super Kings, Super Kings... Idhu Chennai Super Kings... Padai thanaey... Tamil mannai muthamidum nadai thanaey... Cut right through, like a razor blade... yeah... Burn them down, make no mistake... Tamil ratham thaan, ini yudham thaan, make way for Chennai Super Kings... Idhu Chennai Chennai Super Kings... Namma Yellow Jersey endrum wins... Super Kings, Super Kings... Dilloda adippoam, Thrilloada adippoam - Vetri kodugalai Chennai than pidippoam... yey yey yey Idhu Chennai Chennai Super Kings... Namma Yellow Jersey endrum wins... Super Kings, Super Kings... Dilloda adippoam, Thrilloada adippoam - Vetri kodugalai Chennai than pidippoam... yey yey yey Idhu Chennai Super Kings... Adi thanaey... Idhu vinnai muthamidum... Idi thaney... Oh ohh oh ohh... oh ohh oh ohhh... Oh ohh oh ohh... oh ohh oh ohhh... Will Power Vizhiyae... Winners naam vidhiyae... Veeram Theeram idhu vizhayaadum vazhiyae... Super Kings, Super Kings... Idhu Chennai Super Kings... Padai thanaey... Tamil mannai muthamidum nadai thanaey... Cut right through, like a razor blade... yeah... Burn them down, make no mistake... Tamil ratham thaan, ini yudham thaan, make way for Chennai Super Kings... Idhu Chennai Chennai Super Kings... Namma Yellow Jersey endrum wins... Super Kings, Super Kings... ==================== -Dedicated to CSK fans all over the world.

[Ram]

:yay:

[cowboysfan]

brc's song has katrina kaif-we win.

[Lord]

Move It In Ipl Forum

[Dinx - the Jinx]

Last year we missed it by a whisker. With Midas Dhoni, its not just team India who are on a roll and are gonnu take the no. 1 spot in ODI rankings... CSK will also benefit from Dhoni's midas touch and win the trophy...

[Ram]

With Haydos to open, Hussey, Dhoni, Morkel,Badri, Freddie in the middle order and Bala, Murali, Freddie and Gony in the bowling department, CSK looks lot more stronger than last year.

[Dinx - the Jinx]

Move It In Ipl Forum

WTF is ur problem? Dont you see other threads on IPL in the main forum? If you dont want to read it or comment... just ignore.. why are you asking it to be moved? Doesnt sound good on your part Sachin Rox... Dint expect dis from you.

[cowboysfan]

where is this ipl forum?

[SachDan]

^^ he was serious dinakkar!

[SachDan]

where is this ipl forum?

Earlier it was in the Cricket Talk page itself. Now click on Indian Cricket Fans Message Board and there you will see Twenty20 forum which is also the IPL forum

[Dinx - the Jinx]

^ Do you know that Vijay TV is going to run a reality show to hunt for cheer leaders... Show features Dhoni as well... There are two competitions.. one to select CSK Cheer leaders and other to select a Junior CSK team (aged 8-12). First of its kind in the entire country.. CSK rocks dude...

[flamy]

namma capptaain peteru!! B->B->B->B->

[Dinx - the Jinx]

^^ he was serious dinakkar!

You mean - he wasnt serious?

[Lord]

WTF is ur problem? Dont you see other threads on IPL in the main forum? If you dont want to read it or comment... just ignore.. why are you asking it to be moved? Doesnt sound good on your part Sachin Rox... Dint expect dis from you.

WELL u r effectively cheering for ur own side n since it involves IPL,thats why i said it.i didnt say remove it.chill!