IPL 2012 final: Chennai Super Kings -- How strong is their bid for a third title?

Vineet Ramakrishnan

Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings have fast made their reputation as the heavyweights of Indian Premier League and with two IPL titles, one Champions League trophy, and 4 final appearances in 5 years, the have been the team to beat since the inception of IPL, but very few teams have been able to do that till now. Also Read: Men behind KKR’s successful journey this year…» I Trump cards for CSK in the final» I Last three standing » I Sunil Narine: Kolkata’s mystery man» I IPL 5 in Pics » I IPL Controversies » I Two matches, two new heroes » I IPL Centurions » I Top performers of IPL 5 » I How Gambhir can stop CSK juggernaut» I Why is Gautam ‘Gambhir’ about winning IPL 5?» Know Your Teams: Kolkata Knight Riders» I Chennai Super Kings» • We at Zeenews.com analyse what can work for and against CSK. Here is a SWOT analysis of the Super Kings from down south. • Captain: Mahendra Singh Dhoni • Played: 16 • Won: 10 • Loss: 5 • No Result: 1 • IPL titles: 2 • Strength: • A Settled team, A captain with the Midas touch, Destructive allrounders, Potent Indian contingent. That is what Super Kings are all about in one line. Their biggest strength lies in the fact that they have been able to retain their core team from the IPL 2008 auction. They are the team with the least number of players in their rooster, 17 and still they have been right there at the top, on their own. • Captain MS Dhoni is the golden boy of cricket in the present generation and he has taken Chennai Super Kings to heights known only to him. His clam and composed captaincy which seems invincible coupled with the cream of cricketing talent at his disposal makes Chennai Super Kings a force to reckon with. • The prowess of allrounders have always helped CSK in the shortest format of the game. In the initial years they had the services of big hitting Justin Kemp and now the trio of Albie Morkel, Dwayne Bravo and Ravinder Jadeja have won the team from South matches on their own. • Weakness: • Really!!! After two IPL titles, one Champions League trophy, and 4 final appearances in 5 years – is there a chink in this team’s armour. But again, just for the sake of it, Suresh Raina extremely impressive IPL career has had a dark spot with some indifferent showing this season. Also, the likes of Ben Hifenhuas and Albie Morkel have been tentative under pressure. Even Ashwin have had a moderate season as compared to other premium spinners in the tournament. • Key Players: MS Dhoni, Dwayne Bravo, Murali Vijay • Chennai Super Kings Squad : Mahendra Singh Dhoni (c and wk), Michael Hussey, Murali Vijay, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Srikkanth Anirudha, Dwayne Bravo, Albie Morkel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ben Hilfenhaus, Shadab Jakati, Doug Bollinger, Francois du Plessis, George Bailey, Scott Styris, Suraj Randiv, Abhinav Mukund, G Vignesh, Joginder Sharma, Kuthethur Vasudevadas, Subramaniam Badrinath, Sudeep Tyagi, Yo Mahesh and Wriddhiman Saha.