Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], April 24 : Former India captain and talismc Chennai Super Kings skipper, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, is not just a name to his fans but also an emotion. The latest IPL match between the Chennai franchise and Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens yet again saw the crowd chanting "Dhoni Dhoni" in the stands.
With Kolkata being the KKR's home ground, it was expected that the sea of purple in the stands would be partisan towards the Shah Rukh Khan-owned franchise. However, while the supporters filled the stands and strained their lungs in support of the home franchise, they also showered the same affection on MSD and his men on an electrifying evening at the Eden Gardens.
While purple shirts dominated the stands at a packed Eden, fans in the trademark yellow shirts of CSK were also seen packing the stands.
The contest, however, turned into a lopsided one as Chennai defended a mammoth target to hand Kolkata a rare home defeat this season of the IPL.
CSK defeated KKR by a comfortable margin of 49 runs in match number 33 of the IPL on Sunday. Chasing 236 runs at a typically noisy Eden, KKR came up short and were eventually restricted to 186 for 8.
KKR's co-owner Juhi Chawla was also extremely happy to see the spectators showering love on Dhoni and his team.
Speaking to post the KKR-CSK clash, Juhi heaped praise on the talismc skipper of the Chennai franchise, saying, "Chennai Super Kings played well today. Watching MS Dhoni play as a captain is wonderful. We hope we can do what CSK just did, in our next match... There were so many people supporting CSK, we thought we have reached Chennai."
After the match, Dhoni also thanked fans for their support.
"I will just say thanks for the support, they came in big numbers. Most of these guys will come in a KKR jersey next time. They are trying to give me a farewell, so thanks a lot to the crowd," Dhoni quipped.
Dhoni recently sent shockwaves and left fans emotional all over social media after he said "it's the last phase of my career."
"All said and done, it's the last phase of my career, however long I play," he said when asked in the post-match interaction how he tends to deal with all the roar and crowd support at Chepauk a few days ago. "After two years, the fans have had the opportunity to come here and watch, feels good to be here. The crowd has given us a lot of love and affection. Not getting enough chances to bat, but no complaints," Dhoni said.
Dhoni retired from international cricket in August 2020 and is currently playing only the IPL.
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