Double for CSK, Triple for MSD

Not often do you see an emotional MS Dhoni, but on Sunday night the Chennai Super Kings skipper, who won his third major T20 title, showed some signs of choking as he spoke about how a champion side was playing its last game together.

The Super Kings on Sunday won their second major T20 title just five months after they were crowned the IPL Champions. The team, led by India's T20 World Cup winning captain, are now truly the best T20 club side in the world. They were runners-up in the first edition of the IPL in 2008, made it to the semi-finals in 2009 and won the tournament in 2010.

Despite not playing together right through the year, the team gelled as a cohesive unit and proved all their detractors wrong who though that an IPL team could not win the CL T20 in South African conditions, especially after a lacklustre show in the first edition of the tournament at home.

But Dhoni, truly destiny's child, had other plans. Even when he was severely criticised for his decision to bowl Ravichandran Ashwin in the Super Over in the game against Victoria that his team lost, Dhoni was his usual self. He knew he had taken a chance that had not paid off. That did not mean his Midas touch was gone.

In the final, played at the Wanderers, Johannesburg - the same venue where he had led India to the 2007 World T20 title over Pakistan- Dhoni did not put a foot wrong. How could he? After all this is the place where he started the resurrection of a team that had been down and out ever since it crashed out of the 2007 Cricket World Cup in the West Indies.

But things are expected to change soon for the IPL team when fresh auctions take place before the fourth edition of the tournament. It needs to be seen how much of the core team will be possible to be retained. The form may change, but the soul of a champion side will remain. And one wishes that may the champions forever remain high on MSD!