Eden Gardens of Kolkata, the home ground for the two-time IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders, has forever been the perfect host to the ardent KKR fans over the last 15 years. Spectators donning the purple and gold of the KKR jersey have graced the venue in numbers to show their support for the team in defeat and in loss. But on Sunday, the venue was painted yellow. Not once did Eden Gardens ever look as KKR's home ground as fans of Chennai Super Kings had taken over to witness ‘The man, the myth, the legend’, MS Dhoni. Chants of ‘Dhoni’ echoed through the walls of the iconic venue while posters requesting a glimpse of Dhoni's batting were in plenty.
Just like in the previous game, Dhoni walked in with CSK having three balls remaining in their innings. He had a rousing reception from the Kolkata crowd while the numbers reflecting the amount of viewers on the digital platform, shot up significantly.
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Following CSK's emphatic win, when Dhoni was asked about the crowd support in Kolkata, he dropped another retirement bomb while thanking their presence.
“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,” he said.
Moments after the mind-numbing remark, that had sent fans into overdrive, Ravi Shastri's epic description of the Eden Gardens went viral on Twitter, which was in fact said before the start of the match when the camera showed the venue covered more with CSK fans than their KKR counterparts.
{{/usCountry}}Moments after the mind-numbing remark, that had sent fans into overdrive, Ravi Shastri's epic description of the Eden Gardens went viral on Twitter, which was in fact said before the start of the match when the camera showed the venue covered more with CSK fans than their KKR counterparts.
{{/usCountry}}“It’s the sea of yellow in Eden, tribute to one man. He’s the King of East, it’s MS Dhoni," Shastri had exclaimed.
While fans can only hope and pray that Dhoni never bids goodbye to IPL, for now, till the end of this season, they can enjoy the phenomenon or magic that is MSD, who has been in one of finest forms in his career. Despite being completely away from cricketing action, he still has been hitting sixes at will and his wicketkeeping still astute and lightning quick as it was before.
And for CSK, they are now the table toppers with five wins in seven matches in IPL 2023.