On Sunday, April 23, IPL 2023, there were almost as many yellow shirts as purple shirts at Eden Gardens for the Kolkata Knight Riders home game against the Chennai Super Kings. There was continuous chanting of “Dhoni, Dhoni” from the moment MS Dhoni arrived in Kolkata till he spoke at the post-match presentation ceremony as the winning captain. Since it seemed that CSK was playing in Chepauk, Eden was filled with banners praising MS Dhoni.
At the conclusion of the IPL 2022 season, MS Dhoni said that he will return to head CSK in 2023 and that he would want to thank the fans throughout the nation for their support over the years. The resumption of the home-and-away format was a factor in Dhoni’s decision to deny retirement rumours last year.
MS Dhoni thanks the Kolkata crowd for turning up in yellow during the game between CSK and KKR in IPL 2023
On Sunday, a sea of yellow greeted MS Dhoni as he entered the stadium, and they continued their vociferous support throughout the high-scoring match. Dhoni and CSK did not let down the crowd, winning by 49 runs and moving to the top of the IPL 2023 standings with the highest total ever scored at Eden Gardens (235).
Dhoni, clearly moved by the outpouring of love from the Kolkata audience, expressed his gratitude. “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,” MS Dhoni said in his own imitable style, keeping the fans guessing about his future in the IPL.
Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Ajinkya Rahane, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni(w/c), Matheesha Pathirana, Tushar Deshpande, Maheesh Theekshana
Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): N Jagadeesan(w), Jason Roy, Nitish Rana(c), Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, David Wiese, Kulwant Khejroliya, Suyash Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy
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