MS Dhoni steers CSK to IPL 2023 title (AP)
MS Dhoni’s celebration with Ravindra Jadeja showed what a title means to him, what a win means and more importantly, that success with this franchise holds a special place in his heart
MS Dhoni’s eyes were closed and his head was slightly bowed when Ravindra Jadeja took guard to face the final ball of IPL 2023. For either team on stage, thousands of fans had their smartphones up to capture the moment of victory, and there was a brief delay in the match as Gujarat Titans captain Hardik Pandya spoke to Mohit Sharma before the final ball of the tournament Was. The delay only increased the tension and when Mohit looked ready to bowl, there was a lot of noise.
The noise soon turned into a roar when Jadeja helped a wrong full-toss onto the ropes and sealed the win. Before the ball reached the ropes, the left-handed batsman took off in celebration for the dugout, where his skipper Dhoni was standing near the boundary ropes. What followed was a moment of pure joy and a rare display of emotion by the CSK captain lifting Jadeja with an injured left knee, and celebrating the nerve-wracking title win.
That 10-second moment showed what the title means to him, what winning still means to him, and why success with this franchise will hold a special place in his heart. For donkey years, Dhoni has been in a similar position in the middle but this was different, it was different and definitely felt different. There were tears of joy in the stands, emotions welled up in the CSK dugout and even Dhoni, who is known to hide his emotions, remained ice-cool under pressure and even celebrated the biggest win. Don’t even celebrate, couldn’t hold back the joy which felt like a relief too.
It was that kind of night and it’s been that kind of weather. A season that started with the crowd chanting “Dhoni, Dhoni” at the Narendra Modi Stadium has ended on a similar note. The crowd that made Ice-Man’s eyes water in the season opener last night left a lump in his throat. Wherever he went, the yellow jersey followed him. The slogans never stopped whenever he came out to bat, no matter how brief. From Chennai to New Delhi, the sea of yellow kept storming the stands and the “love and affection” has now forced Dhoni to do something for them too.
“It would be easy for me to say “thank you very much” but the tough thing for me is to work hard for the next 9 months and come back and play at least 1 more season of IPL. A lot depends on the body. I have 6-7 months to decide. It will be like a gift from my side, it is not easy for me but it is a gift. The way he has shown his love and affection, I feel that I Something should be done for them,” Dhoni said at the post-match presser.
The clock was about to strike 3 but the crowd was not ready to go, just as they had stuck through the rain on May 28 and returned in full force on Reserve Day.
“You only get emotional because this is the last part of my career, this is where it started and the first game when I went down everybody was chanting my name. I got tears in my eyes and I was in the dugout for a while. I just stood there. I realized I wanted to enjoy it. It was the same in Chennai, it was my last match there, but it would be nice to come back and play whatever I can,” CSK skipper he said.
Everyone had to wait if it rained on Sunday, the wet side strips, which had absorbed a lot of water during the drizzle during the mid-innings break, did not allow any cricket to resume. When conditions finally became playable, the match was reduced to a 15-over-a-side contest, but the fans were not complaining. Most of them came to Ahmedabad for Dhoni, stayed in the city for Dhoni and waited past midnight to first watch Dhoni bat and then see him lift the IPL trophy for the fifth time.
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Never before has an IPL final been moved to a reserve day and finished nearly three hours behind schedule. The game which was supposed to end on 28th May was earlier shifted to 29th May and finally we got the winner in the early hours of 30th May. The clock read 3:45 in the morning but the stands were not completely empty yet. One last picture, one last video from that potentially viral reel and one last glimpse of their superstar.
As he waved in front of the stands, which were lined with fans, Dhoni walked off the field as IPL champion for the fifth time, leaving behind a lot of memories for the fans. For most, Dhoni closing his eyes in the second half of the final over will remain the highlight of the season and the 42-year-old will remain the toast of the nation.
