Far from their best, but not far from title
Super Kings had a mixed 2012, with more lows than highs, yet they almost won their third IPL title in a row
Where they finished
Second. They were chasing a hat-trick of IPL titles on Sunday at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, but came up against a determined Kolkata Knight Riders. It did not look as though they would even go that far after a shoddy showing in the league stage, but fortune put them in the playoffs and, in familiar territory, they almost made it count.Key player
Super Kings' strengths have always been their batting and spin bowling. The fast-bowling cupboard has often looked bare. Yet, in 2010*, when the team was struggling, it was the arrival of Australia quick Doug Bollinger mid-way through the season that galvanised the team. Similarly, this season, just when it looked like their campaign was coming apart, another Australia fast bowler Ben Hilfenhaus arrived from the West Indies and quickly settled in to become an important cog in the Super Kings set-up.
Flop buy
Super Kings bought one player at the 2012 auction: Ravindra Jadeja. They had spent their full purse on him, making him the IPL's newest two-million dollar man. Billed as an allrounder, he bowled more than two overs only six times in 18 games. In the second qualifier and the final, he neither batted nor bowled. And when he did get his chance to contribute in either department, he did nothing much of note. He finished with 191 runs and 12 wickets - of which 48 runs and five wickets came against Deccan Chargers. The Chargers game apart, the only game-changing hand he played was against Royal Challengers Bangalore: he managed to edge away the final delivery for four to third man, to seal Super Kings' thrilling chase of 206.Highlights
"We know how to win trophies," Albie Morkel had said during the last stage of the league games, when it looked like Super Kings might not progress. "I think we need the luck element and we will be all right." Fortune might have put them in the final four, but once there, they justified their place. In the eliminator against Mumbai Indians, they looked a completely different side to the one that bumbled through the league phase. The batting and bowling clicked together and, more crucially, Super Kings showed the tenacity they have come to be associated with in testing situations. They were 2 for 1, before Michael Hussey and S Badrinath rallied, and MS Dhoni and Bravo counterattacked to carry the side to 187, a total that proved way beyond the reach of a powerful Mumbai Indians line-up. That performance breathed new life into their season, and suddenly many rated them as favourites for the title once more.Lowlight
Yes, nothing could hurt much more than losing the final, but it was another defeat that left Super Kings in a much worse position. The team is used to a last-minute scramble to make the playoffs, and up until this year's match against Kings XI Punjab in Dharamsala, was used to coming out on top in such situations. But a batting failure meant they had only 120 to defend on the small Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association ground, with the rarefied atmosphere. If Super Kings hoped to pull off a heist, Adam Gilchrist, returning from a month-long injury layoff, squashed all such thoughts with an unbeaten 64 off 46. It looked, then, that Super Kings, the defending champions, had failed to make the IPL playoffs for the first time in five seasons.Verdict
Super Kings had a mixed 2012, with more lows than highs, yet they almost won their third IPL title in a row.Nikita Bastian is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo