IPL 2024

‘Thala sabse alag hai’ – Fans in Chennai go crazy as huge crowds throng Chepauk Stadium to watch MS Dhoni bat in practice match

Chennai last won an Indian T20 League title in 2021.

Mar 28, 2023 3:00 pm

The craze for MS Dhoni is unreal. Ask the crowd at the MA Chidambaram Stadium and they will tell you it is something else. The fans filled up the Chepauk in huge numbers to watch MS Dhoni bat in a practice game. The video of the same has gone viral on social media. In the video, the crowd can be seen shouting at very high decibels. The scenes feel like a carnival atmosphere. The crowd showered all their love to him.

This is not the first time such a spectacle has taken place. When Chennai came back in to Indian T20 League in 2018, crowds turned up to watch Chennai practice. About 10,000 people had come to watch the team at the stadium. The atmosphere was no different that time as well. Sadly, all of Chennai’s games were shifted to Pune except one fixture against Kolkata which happened at the start of the season.

Chennai and Kolkata played the match at Chepauk Stadium after a two year hiatus

That game was a high scoring clash. The Chepauk on that occasion was a proper batting track. The encounter went into the dying stages. Kolkata scored 202-6 in the first innings. Robin Uthappa made 29 off 16 balls with two fours and three sixes. Dinesh Karthik made 26 off 25 balls with two fours and one six. But the hero for Kolkata was Andre Russell. He made a belligerent 88 off 36 balls with one four and 11 sixes.

In the run chase, Chennai got off to a fast start, courtesy of Shane Watson and Ambati Rayudu. Watson made 42 off 19 balls with three fours and three sixes. Rayudu made 39 off 26 balls with three fours and two sixes. Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni got in but did not trouble the scorers. Sam Billings was the star of the show for Chennai. He made a sparkling 56 off 23 balls with two fours and five sixes.

Ravindra Jadeja and Dwayne Bravo finished the job for Chennai in the last ball of the 19th over. Bravo made 11 off 5 balls with one six, Jadeja made 11 off 7 balls with one six. When Chennai won the game, the fans rejoiced in glee at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Chennai also won a title in 2018.

Let us take a look at the reactions of fans on Twitter on Dhoni’s craze: