GUWAHATI: DHONI! DHONI! CSK! CSK! The chants never ceased the entire time. Right from the gates were opened and until the last bunch of crowd stepped out. Guwahati is the adopted home of Rajasthan Royals for the last three years. It is considered their stronghold and the place where RR’s biggest local connect Riyan Parag is from.
However, on a rather warm March Sunday, all the streets leading to the stadium were milling with fans, all clad in yellow with only one number and name written on the back – 7 and DHONI. The former captain of India and Chennai Super Kings has shown why he is one of the greatest crowd-pullers in Indian cricket. Every corner of the Assam Cricket Association stadium in Barsapara was dressed in yellow. The pink of the Royals was pale dots in between a sea of yellow. In short it was more #Whistlepodu than Halla Bol.
Dhoni had not played in this centre for a while. He was here in the first international cricket this venue had hosted in 2017. The match was against the New Zealand, a T20 affair followed by a one-dayer against West Indies in 2018. The 23-year-old Riyan was in his teens then.
Many summers have passed since. In the last three years after RR made Guwahati their home, CSK never visited this venue. And the crowd was not going to miss this opportunity. Dhoni has transcended beyond cricket, the game. For most fans his place is among the immortals.
At 43, he may fail with the bat or might have lost the fitness he was known for but the kind of romance he evokes goes beyond the walls of the MS Chidambaram Stadium, the Chepauk, the city of Chennai. He may have retired from international cricket but he lives in their minds and hearts. It was a day where winning or losing did not matter.
When the game started with CSK opting to bowl, there was one Dhoni on the ground and thousands on the stands. There were signs of aging as well. Regulation gathering seemed like laboured. RR went on to score 182/9, thanks to Nitish Rana’s 81 off 36 balls. But more than the runs, it was the wickets that were cheered on.
The trend continued during the chase when CSK lost the most important wicket of Ruturaj Gaikwad (63), with Dhoni walked out to the biggest cheer. With Ravindra Jadeja for company (32 n.o), he took the chase into the last over amidst continous cheers. When 20 runs needed off six, Dhoni was caught in the deep (16) and RR let out a sigh of relief — a six-run win and two points.
Brief scores: RR 182/9; 20 overs (Rana 81, Parag 37; Noor 2/28, Pathirana 2/28) bt CSK 176/6 in 20 ovs (Gaikwad 63, Hasaranga 4/35).