When MS Dhoni walks out to bat at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, there will be loudest cheering, it was as expected. Yet when it actually happened it needed a minute or two to let the noise sink in. After the fall of Ravindra Jadeja in the last over of CSK’s innings against Lucknow Supergiants on Monday, Dhoni walked his way to the middle at his regular pace.The crowded crowd had no boundaries. A unique, to put it mildly, collective show of passion and devotion resulted from him exhaling fully and raising his voice to unheard-of volumes. To watch his “Thala” in action, he had to wait 1426 days—Dhoni played his final IPL game in Chennai in May 2019.
CHENNAI: MS Dhoni, captain of the Chennai Super Kings, during the Monday, April 3, 2023 cricket match between the Chennai Super Kings and Lucknow Super Giants at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. R Senthil Kumar/PTI Picture; PTI04 03 2023 000319B ( PTI)
Being the famous entertainer that he is, Dhoni did not let his fans down. Mark Wood, who is maybe the fastest bowler in this IPL and just two nights prior had utterly decimated Delhi Capitals with his sheer pace and movement, was the opponent when Dhoni smashed his opening ball—clocked at 148.7 km/h—for a six. hurled at a man Anyone who believed that the decibel level was at its maximum was gravely mistaken.
Wood appeared a little uneasy due to the pressure of Dhoni’s bowling and the deafening roar in the closing overs. He went in and launched it in the center of the field knowing exactly what the crowd and Dhoni wanted. Even the best things can budge under stress. When bowling to Dhoni in the final overs, the short delivery, no matter how quick, is the last choice. Wood had anticipated to find a remedy. Dhoni pulls a rising delivery that he has brought outside off the stump. The ball descended into the stands after vanishing into the night sky that was dotted with moving lamps. The distance was 89 meters long. Yet, it was impossible to gauge the amount of noise it produced.
Wood appeared a little uneasy due to the pressure of Dhoni’s bowling and the deafening roar in the closing overs. He went in and launched it in the center of the field knowing exactly what the crowd and Dhoni wanted. Even the best things can budge under stress. When bowling to Dhoni in the final overs, the short delivery, no matter how quick, is the last choice. Wood had anticipated to find a remedy. Dhoni pulls a rising delivery that he has brought outside off the stump. The ball descended into the stands after vanishing into the night sky that was dotted with moving lamps. The distance was 89 meters long. Yet, it was impossible to gauge the amount of noise it produced.
Nobody should be held accountable for asserting that those two Dhoni sixes ultimately made the difference. Despite how unexpected it may sound, LSG fell 12 shy of CSK’s goal. The Yellow Brigade’s and their ringmaster’s triumphant return home after almost four years was sweet, or should we say rowdy. Who, however, is grumbling? Who knows what a man with the Midas touch can accomplish? Let Dhoni hit more sixes, let the audience grow, and let there be more noise.