On Sunday night, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) played their last home league game of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, or Chepauk. There were a lot of tears shed at the game. Even though the four-time winners lost to the Kolkata Knight Riders by six wickets in match number 61, the CSK captain, MS Dhoni, took the whole team for a lap around the Chepauk stadium after the game to thank the fans for their support all season.
One person wondered if this was the last time famous captain MS Dhoni would play in front of the Chepauk crowd, since it’s still not clear if he’ll be back to lead the team in 2024. Even India’s previous captain, Sunil Gavaskar, took advantage of the big event by asking Dhoni for a special autograph.
A video that went viral on social media showed Dhoni signing Gavaskar’s name on his shirt. Even though Qualifier 1 and Eliminator are set to take place at the same venue, CSK has not yet confirmed a spot in the playoffs after losing to KKR on Sunday night.
Gavaskar later said that he had borrowed a pen when he heard that CSK was going to have a lap of honor after the game. The famous India opener praised Dhoni for what he has done for Indian cricket.
“Who isn’t in love with him? He has done a lot of great things for Indian cricket over the years. The most important thing is the kind of person he has been. So many young people admire him. Thanks a lot, I borrowed a pen from you. I kept it with me as soon as I heard they were going on a lap,” he said on Star Sports network.
Dhoni, on the other hand, only got two runs in his last home league game at Chepauk, where CSK was limited to 144 for 6 after playing first. But Dhoni said that the dew made the CSK bowlers less effective and that the team needed to score more than 180 runs to have a chance in the match.
“We knew we needed 180 runs as soon as we threw the first ball in the second innings. But we could not have gotten 180 on that pitch. In the second inning, the dew made a big difference. None of our players are really to blame.” “It was just that the weather had a big effect on the game,” Dhoni said during the introduction after the game.
