Yesterday, during the IPL(Indian Premier League) match between the Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, a fan came running in from another direction to hug the former Indian skipper, Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
There was huge support for MS Dhoni from the Gujarat fans when he came to bat after the departure of Shivam Dube. It was not just a support for the Indian skipper but also the fans’ love for him as long as he was batting and striking the ball from the crease.
IPL Fans’ Love For MS Dhoni
IPL is the only cricket tournament and it is considered as a festival whenever MS Dhoni came in to bat and pleased the fans with his enormous strikings for the last 2 years. The IPL fans always wants Dhoni to come up high in the order and bat but his age and knee injury does not allow him to bat at full strength and face more than 15 balls of the innings.’
But his fans in Gujarat last night were not disappointed, as he gave them three sixes in his innings, and it was not an ordinary sixes as two of the sixes was done in one hand by ‘Thala’.
MSD’s Brilliant Sixes against Gujarat Titans
The Gujarat Titans(GT) posted a mammoth total of 232 runs, which majorly owes to the brilliant centuries by both the openers of Gujarat, Subham Gill, who scored 104 runs out of 55 balls with 6 sixes and 9 fours, and Sai Sudharsan, who scored 103 out of 51 balls with 7 sixes and 5 fours. The duo scored a massive partnership of 210 runs, which helped Gujarat post a total of 232 runs with only 3 wickets in the 20 overs.
The CSK (Chennai Super Kings) openers stumbled in the run chase as the openers were gone in the powerplay, but the CSK batsmen Daryl Mitchell and Moeen Ali kept the Yellow Army in the chase, but the wickets of both men fell, which marked the end for the Yellow Army. However, MS Dhoni came into the game and produced with the mindset of providing a fair finish to the game.
MS Dhoni’s first six to Mohit Sharma’s knuckleball was a majestic thing to watch as the ball went into the crowd, and they almost made the perfect reaction to the shot. The second six was MSD’s iconic helicopter shot, which came in off Afghani spinner Rashid Khan after he danced into the pitch and sent the ball straight into the crowd. The third six was also scored with one hand, and the ball straight into the crowd. It was just not the night for the CSK players, but it was a night to remember for the fans who enjoyed the short innings of MS Dhoni.
Fan Breaks Security To Hug Dhoni
When the replays of the sixes were shown on the screen, a fan broke the security protocols and ran onto the field. Dhoni also played with him as he tried to run away from the scene. But the fan touched the legendary Indian skipper’s feet and hugged him affectionately.
— Reeze-bubbly fan club (@ClubReeze21946) May 10, 2024
Shortly after the fan’s interaction with the former Indian skipper, he was escorted slowly out of the field. MS Dhoni couldn’t score the last two balls but finished the game in style with a boundary as he remained unbeaten for 26 runs out of 11 balls as the Yellow Army fell short of GT’s massive total by 35 runs.
CSK’s lazy effort in batting and bowling
However, it was a lazy effort by both CSK bowlers and their opening batsmen, including their skipper, Ruturaj Gaikward, who scored a duck in the game. The 100-run partnership between Moeen Ali and Daryl Mitchell gave some hope to the CSK fans, but after their wickets fell, it all ended as Shivam Dube and Ravindra Jadeja couldn’t do any damage to the Gujarat Titans bowling with only MS Dhoni, who stood on the other side of the crease and did some minimum damage to the bowling with his incredible sixes.
After this defeat, the Yellow Army is in the fourth position of the IPL 2024 with six wins and six defeats. They must find some way to win their next games to qualify for the IPL 2024 Playoffs.
