#THREAD It was all started on July 15th 2017 where MS donning the @ChennaiIPL jersey to signing the contract as Sakshi asking "Back home Mahi" on Jan 4th 2018 to winning the trophy at Wankhede on 27th May 2018. It couldn't have had a more fitting & fairy tale end to that penance.

The season was taxing with the return from suspension, catering to the expectations. The pain of playing only one game at Chepauk and having shifted to Pune, CSK got more fans and more heart from these hardships. #WhistlePoduExpress turned out in numbers wherever the team played.

It was reminiscent of the ultimate result in the end it was more importantly a win for everyone, for this family we call "Chennai Super Kings". This wasn’t a victory by only a group of individuals but rather a team effort where everyone chipped in with contribution when needed.

The SRH bowlers hit their straps and the areas really well. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sandeep Sharma and Siddharth Kaul made life tough for the batsmen with Du Plessis the first casualty after skying a slower delivery from Sharma.

The crowd gets onto Shane Watson who endured a nightmare start despite the season he had, with 0 runs from his first 10 balls. They criticized him, mocked him and his age but that is when great players talk back, with the bat.

It was all started from there, when Shane Watson chose the event to put on a show as if to prove a point on behalf of his veteran teammates in opposition to experts who had ridiculed CSK as Dad’s Army for selecting a team of 30+ in the auction.

Queenslander who hammered the bowlers all over the park, as Sandeep sharma bowled the 13th over, Watson took the bull by the horns chancing the best option to put CSK in the driving seat & smashed 3 consecutive 6s scoring 27 runs of the over (0, 4, 6, 6, 6, 0wd, 4).

CSK in pole position with Watto approaching a century and scored the magical 100th run, his 2nd of the 2018 edition with a nudge off Rashid Khan to cover. The veteran showed that he has arrived at the biggest stage and once more when his team needed one in the big game.

He had come a long way from struggling to score his first run to now reaching 100 and the emotion was all over. What a moment for Watto.

"WATSON CARRYING THE TEAM", The picture says it all.

The chants of ‘CSK, CSK’ rang around the Wankhede and the moment of history arrived soon. The reward for the burden and "WAIT" off over 2 years and the pain were all forgotten off a whip from Rayudu’s hit which brings the winning runs and the smiles were back.

The emotions all the over the ground when the moment of fairytale arrived.

CSK won the IPL 2018 for the 3rd time and also coming back into the IPL with a bruised ego due to the ignominy of a 2 year suspension, the Dad's army proved they hold an equal air of invincibility that made them the most successful side in the 1st 8 editions.

The post match presentation followed on with smiles from MS and respect from either teams and Watson received his Man of the Match award for his blitzkrieg. The moment was a great respite to the wounds and the nightmares the fans had to endure for the past two years.

As Manjrekar's final words to MS, "Do something that you have done twice before, lift the trophy Mahendra Singh Dhoni" as he recieved the trophy from CK Khanna and the Dad's army smiled back with hugs, pats, smiles and the IPL trophy in hand shutting up all the critics in unison.

The icing on the cake was the skipper enjoying the occasion with his daughter, the little bundle of joy that we all came to adore. It was a treat for everyone’s eyes to see Ziva playing with Skipper Dad.

Yes this was the DAD's ARMY but they do know how to celebrate the situation & also how to win, to celebrate the situation. A day to remember & cherish for all "CHENNAI SUPER KINGS" fans & justified the tag #ThirumbiVandhutomnuSollu. #WhistlePodu to one of the best year ever.