Legendary India and
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain
MS Dhoni is dropping one hint after another that the 2023 edition of the IPL might just be his last. After talking about being in the last phase of his career in the previous game against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, Dhoni suggested that he might have played his last at
Kolkata's
Eden Gardens when CSK faced the home team Knight Riders on Sunday, April 23. However, it didn't look like CSK were playing an away game as the crowd was more yellow than purple and fans thronged the iconic stadium to see the 'main man' in action in their city probably for one final time.
The stadium was Dhoni-fied and speaking on the large support for him and his team after the visitors sealed a magnificent 49-run win, he said, "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.”
Dhoni has a special connection with the city and was quick to mention the same when Ravi Shastri asked about the massive support for him at the toss. "I have played a lot of cricket over here. I had a job at Kharagpur which was two hours from here. The love comes from there,” Dhoni had said before the start of the game."
Although Dhoni batted for only three balls, the capacity crowd at the Eden Gardens would be glad to see the Men in Yellow getting the two points while the local fans, who were easily outnumbered on Sunday, will be disappointed as KKR were subjected to their fourth successive loss of the tournament.
Meanwhile, CSK rode on quickfire knocks by Ajinkya Rahane, Shivam Dube, Devon Conway and Ruturaj Gaikwad to post a mammoth score of 235 runs, which proved to be too much for KKR as the visitors climbed to the top of the points table.
The innings featured a lot of occasions in which captain and veteran wicketkeeper MS Dhoni was in the thick of the action. The 41-year-old took a catch, effected a stumping and a run out. In the process he went past South Africa's Quinton de Kock to make him the wicketkeeper with most catches in T20 cricket.
Dhoni had taken the catch that dismissed SRH captain Aiden Markram, one of their most potent batters. That was his 208th catch in the shortest format of the game. De Kock, who is currently struggling to find a place in the Lucknow Super Giants' staring XI, has taken 207 catches in his career. In third place is another veteran Indian wicketkeeper, Dinesh Karthik, with 205 catches. Pakistan's Kamran Akmal is fourth on the list with 172 catches while former West Indies wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin is fifth on 150
The Super Kings dropped to third spot in the table following the defeat on Thursday night, behind the Royals and Gujarat Titans. MS Dhoni's side has five wins from 8 matches so far.