NEW DELHI: The MS Dhoni fever has reached Delhi and it is certainly going to raise the temperature in the peak-summer afternoon match against Delhi Capitals on Saturday.
IPL 2023 SCHEDULE | IPL 2023 POINTS TABLE
Dhoni’s campaign with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) across the country this IPL has an uncanny resemblance with Sachin Tendulkar’s last World Cup campaign in 2011. Going into the last league match at second place in the points table, Dhoni’s team still doesn’t have a confirmed place in the playoffs.
As much as this is about CSK making amends for finishing at the bottom of the table last year, it’s also about Dhoni getting a chance to go back to the Chepauk to play one more time in a city that has defined his cult status.
“We haven’t spoken about it at all, to be honest. Doing it for MS? Is this going to be his last season? We don’t know. He hasn’t shared anything about that with the team,” CSK batting coach Michael Hussey said on Friday.
Dhoni’s lap of honour after CSK’s last league game at Chepauk and the euphoria around his presence at every stadium across the country tell a different story.
The Ferozeshah Kotla isn’t going to be any different on Saturday. The match was declared housefull the moment tickets went online. Capitals have been the first team to be knocked out of this tournament, but their assistant coach Shane Watson doesn’t mind playing party-spoilers. But he too will know his team will find it tough riding the Dhoni wave at their home ground.
The reception CSK have received through Dhoni has liberated them to script a formidable turnaround from a forgettable last season.
“The support we’ve got as a team, and MS is obviously a massive part of that being the legend of Indian cricket, is incredible. Every ground that we’ve gone to, it’s blown us away. The team has just embraced it. It’s not every day that you have the opportunity to play in such an atmosphere. In a way it does raise your game. You can feel that energy in the ground and it lifts your performances,” Hussey said.
Dhoni and the CSK model is a reference point in running an IPL team. Watson has seen it from close quarters when he was part of a CSK team that once bounced back to win a title from a very difficult position.
“What stood out for me was the consistent leadership, with MS and Stephen Fleming and just the calmness they have throughout the franchise,” Watson said.
Watch IPL 2023: CSK look to seal playoffs spot in Delhi
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