Even if it’s in the opposition’s home ground, it was MS Dhoni who got the loudest cheer of all when he entered the field to bat at the Narendra Modi stadium against Gujarat Titans in the opening match of the IPL 2023 on Friday.
This huge pop from the 1 lakh plus capacity crowd for the Chennai Super Kings skipper – the away captain – encapsulated the love, respect, and adoration of the madcap crazy, and passionate fanbase that the Ranchi-born carries around the country.
There had been a big cheer at the toss when MS Dhoni’s turn came to speak, but the crowd was still filling in at 7.10 PM. By after 9 PM, when the Narendra Modi stadium, the largest seating capacity cricket stadium in the world, was near to filling up, MS Dhoni entered the playing arena to bat, at as low as number 8, in the 18th over, the noise from the crowd went through the roof.
And soon after, when MS Dhoni hit Josh Little for a gigantic six in the last over, it was pandemonium; the noise deafening as the crowd went into delirium.
Watch: Crowd greets Dhoni with a massive cheer at the Narendra Modi stadium
Sound 🔛 🔊
Thala Dhoni strides out in Ahmedabad 🚁#GTvCSK #IPLonJioCinema #TATAIPL2023 pic.twitter.com/Cy7seRg4aI
— JioCinema (@JioCinema) March 31, 2023
After taking 3 singles on his first 3 balls, Dhoni smashed left-arm pacer Josh Little for a massive six on the leg side to the merriment of the crowd watching in the stadium and the millions watching on their television sets or digital gadgets.
Watch: MS Dhoni hits a massive six
😂Kar diya bhai! Check out Thala's 200th six for #CSK 💥#IPLonJioCinema #CSKvGT #TATAIPL https://t.co/eMKI8D3FXG pic.twitter.com/BeuUyBEBlf
— JioCinema (@JioCinema) March 31, 2023
On the next ball, Thala pulled Little for a four, the frustration on Titans skipper Hardik Pandya looking clear, but the Ahmedabad crowd didn’t care as they enjoyed every moment of Dhoni’s presence on the pitch.
MSD managed only one more run in the last two balls, but still went out with a strike rate of 200, after scoring 14 unbeaten runs in 7 balls.
This special Dhoni finish helped CSK finish on 178/7. Ruturaj Gaikwad brought his best to the IPL 2023 opening match, scoring 92 runs off 50 balls. However, other CSK batters couldn’t do much – the next highest score for Moeen Ali’s 23 – and they needed Dhoni to do a Dhoni to take them to what at the moment seems a par total on this surface.
