The MA Chidambaram Stadium erupted as the man in the iconic yellow jersey, with the number 7 on his back, walked out of the pavilion during Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) opening match against Mumbai Indians (MI) after Ravindra Jadeja’s dismissal in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Everyone expected the match to end in typical ‘thala’ fashion, for Dhoni to “finish it off in style”, however, that was not what happened and many of the CSK fans could not accept that.
With just four runs needed off six balls, it was Rachin Ravindra who sealed the victory with a stunning six, however, fans were not entirely pleased.
While it was a moment to cherish for young New Zealand batter he was at the receiving end of hate messages on social media.
In the second last over, Dhoni defended two deliveries, leaving it to Ravindra, who finished the game with a six on the first ball of the final over.
"Why didn’t you give strike to Dhoni?" many fans questioned on his recent post about joining the CSK camp.
"Thala ko chakka kyun nahi maarne diya? (Why didn’t you let Dhoni hit a six?)" wrote another.
Following the match Rachin Ravindra opened up about experiencing the Dhoni fandom firsthand.
"It's difficult to soak it in when you're in the moment because you're simply focused on winning the game for the team," Ravindra said after the match.
"It's hard to ignore, though. You hear Dhoni come out to the whistles and the noise. It’s cool to share the crease with him for the first time. He's a legend of the game, and people love him here, so it's special."
"All the crowd would have been hoping that I gave him the strike and he finished it. But it's just about getting the job done. He has finished so many games for CSK, and I'm sure there's plenty more to come."
Earlier in the day, the match between Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) saw SRH come out on top against a determined RR after posting 286 runs, the second-highest total in IPL history. RR fought hard till the end but was only able to score 242 runs while chasing.
