The Chennai Super Kings are among the greatest teams in the Indian Premier League (IPL). There aren’t too many teams that have a legacy as rich as them. As a matter of fact, they also happen to be the most consistent side of all time. Dhoni’s boys have reached the playoffs in every season except the previous one in 2020. That’s how good they have been. In the process, they have also won 3 trophies. Barring the Mumbai Indians (MI), no team has won as many trophies as the Super Kings.
Thus, every team needs to be at their best while playing against them. This makes it even a better reason for bowlers to perform well against them. CSK have always had top class batters, and thus, dismissing them hasn’t always been easy.
However, which bowlers have performed well against the Super Kings?
Which bowlers have picked the most number of wickets against one of the most consistent sides of the league?
In this article, we shall be looking at the top 5 bowlers with the most number of wickets against CSK.
#5 Piyush Chawla – 19 Wickets
Piyush Chawla is one of the best spinners in IPL history. He is easily one of the top five leg spinners in the history of the Indian Premier League. During his peak, he was one leggie every team loved to have in their side. However, the IPL veteran has spent most of his IPL career playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Kings XI Punjab (Now Punjab Kings). He started his IPL career in Punjab and was victorious over there.
However, his stint with KKR was arguably his best. Thus, he sits fifth on the bowlers’ list who have picked the most number of wickets against the Super Kings. Of his 150 scalps, 19 have come in 20 matches against Chennai, putting him fourth on the list. However, he went on to play for CSK as the CSK management spent a hefty amount for him in the IPL 2020 auctions and got him on their side. He was then released a year later.
#4 Sunil Narine – 20 Wickets
The Caribbean mystery spinner has played a big role in KKR’s lineup for the last few years. He has picked over 150 wickets for the Kolkata-based franchise in 11 years, only behind Lasith Malinga on the list of bowlers who have picked the most wickets for a single IPL team.
Out of 152, 20 have come against Chennai Super Kings, which put him inside the top 5 wicket-takers against the Super Kings in the tournament.
#3 Pragyan Ojha – 21 Wickets
Pragyan Ojha is probably one of the most under-appreciated Indian spinners. It gets really disheartening when you realize someone with immense potential like him couldn’t achieve more in his career. Nevertheless, he had a promising IPL career with the Deccan Chargers as well as the Mumbai Indians.
In fact, he was sensational for the Chargers. This places him third on the list of the most wickets a bowler picked against CSK in IPL history. He has gathered as many as 21 wickets in just the 15 matches. He was generally known for being economical whenever he came on to bowl.
#2 Harbhajan Singh – 24 Wickets
The rivalry between CSK and MI has been truly epic and legendary. Over the years, both teams have been at their best whenever they have played against each other. This has led to another player who had played for MI being featured on this list. It is none other than the “Turbanator” Harbhajan Singh.
Although the office did end up playing for CSK later on, he was initially with MI for a decade. Thus he has picked the most number of wickets against CSK in IPL history after Lasith Malinga. Bhaji has picked as many as 24 wickets in the 21 matches against the Super Kings.
#1 Lasith Malinga – 31 Wickets
Does one even need to introduce the yorker king? We think not! Lasith Malinga, without argument, has been one of the greatest bowlers to have played the IPL. Seldom would you find a record list about the bowlers in IPL history and not find his name. However, he always saved his best for his team’s arch-rivals CSK.
The Sri Lankan pacer has picked the most number of wickets against CSK in IPL history. While he has picked 31 wickets against the Chennai franchise. It seems very unlikely that any other bowler will break their record anytime soon. His most recent wicket against CSK being his final IPL match, where he took the wicket of Shardul Thakur in the last ball of the IPL 2019 finals to win MI their 5th title.
