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Journalism of Courage
In about an hour-and-a-half, Chennai Super Kings will turn up at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad for their eighth IPL final. Mumbai Indians will play their fifth. Together they have six IPL titles between them – three apiece. CSK and MI are the two most successful franchises because cricket and structure-wise they are better than the rest.
As a captain, he is always ahead of the game. He also allows his teammates to play without looking over their shoulder. As long as the players are following the right process, the skipper is happy. His approach erases the fear of failure. His teammates play for him. As a batsman, Dhoni remains the team’s best finisher even at 37 years of age. This IPL attests that.
CSK are run by the cricket people. India Cements has 15 clubs across divisions in the Chennai leagues. N Srinivasan remains the father figure, notwithstanding his official disassociation with the franchise. The former BCCI president has been serving cricket in different capacities for close to half a century now. Kasi Viswanathan, the CSK chief executive, is a former secretary of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association. The franchise thrives on a solid cricket structure.
CSK’s game management is better than the rest because they have a bucketload of international experience in their ranks. The Qualifier 2 against Delhi Capitals served an example; the way Faf du Plessis shielded an out-of-form Shane Watson during the early part of the run chase. Both eventually scored half-centuries to secure CSK’s march to yet another final.
He comes from the MS school of captaincy. After a few season of wobbles, when the franchise appointed Rohit as their captain in 2013, they handed over the reins to someone who they knew would lead by example. Rohit galvanised the team as a captain. His calmness has had a hugely positive trickle-down effect. As a batsman, he is a match-winner.
Cricket Fever: Mumbai Indians – the Netflix show on the franchise captured how the owners and the team management went all out to buy back Krunal Pandya during the last year’s auction. MI recruit well, which is the reason the team always has the right balance.
Jasprit Bumrah was a rising star when Lasith Malinga was in his pomp. Now, Malinga is in the autumn of his career, while Bumrah has risen to become the best fast bowler in white-ball cricket. They still complement each other. MI have revelled in having the two most accomplished death-overs bowlers in their line-up.
