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After two years out of the IPL, CSK has seamlessly returned to previous seasons’ consistency and success even as its old soldiers have rolled back the years.

- S. Dinakar

The ball floated in the air towards A.B. de Villiers, bounced and spun down the leg side past his attempted reverse sweep, and the ’keeper whipped off the bails with his usual incredible speed. The stumper — also his team’s captain — made subtle adjustments to the field, arms waving or rotating to send his message across, narrowing down angles. On this day, it was his finger spinners who strangled the opposition — the wrist spinner had been left out.

Later, under the floodlights, Mahendra Singh Dhoni used his powerful wrists and bat speed to bludgeon the ball over the fence, and he sprinted like a hare between the wickets.

It was just another day in the office for the Chennai Super Kings captain — against the Royal Challengers Bangalore in Pune on this occasion — who remains tactically suave, electric with the gloves and brutal with the bat.

Dhoni, incredibly fit at 36, encapsulates the spirit of CSK. It’s a lively, rollicking side with a sense of adventure, an outfit that can fight its way through challenges, breeze past its adversaries. The immensely popular team is roaring along in IPL­11, mowing down opponents with its batting might and varied bowling attack.

Its charismatic captain lends CSK a pan­ India popularity. And this has been a season where the fans — a sea of yellow wherever the team goes — have breached security barriers and stormed arenas seeking Dhoni’s “blessings.” Ahead of this edition of the IPL, the team’s practice sessions in Chennai attracted around 10,000 spectators, and there were constant chants of “Dhoni, Dhoni.”

In the wilderness