The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will return to action in the 2023 Indian Premier League on Saturday when they take on arch-rivals Mumbai Indians (MI) at the iconic Wankhede Stadium. The two most-successful teams in the tournament, both CSK and MI endured a forgettable outing in the previous season where they finished ninth and tenth in the table respectively. While the Super Kings opened their account in the ongoing season this week with a close win over Lucknow Super Giants, the Rohit Sharma-led MI faced a massive eight-wicket loss in their opener against Royal Challengers Bangalore last Sunday.
In the side's win over LSG, Mahendra Singh Dhoni stole the show with his two successive sixes against Mark Wood during the final over of the innings. A 41-year-old Dhoni entered the crease with five balls remaining, and smashed Wood for a six off his first ball; on the second, Dhoni hit a glorious pull over deep midwicket, mesmerizing the Chennai crowd to no ends.
Even during CSK's opener against GT in Ahmedabad, the fans went berserk when Dhoni entered the crease; he faced seven deliveries for an unbeaten 14, hitting a four and a six during the final over. As the season proceeds, Dhoni is expected to attract a full-house wherever the Super Kings play. And so, ahead of the side's third game of the season, MI's batting coach Kieron Pollard drew a big comparison of the CSK skipper with former India and Mumbai Indians great Sachin Tendulkar.
“Fortunately or unfortunately, when he plays this season, everywhere he goes, he's going to have a home crowd and a home support, because of what he has done. We have felt that years ago when we had our own icon, Sachin Tendulkar. No matter where we went throughout India, we had that support,” Pollard said, as quoted by ESPNCricinfo.
{{/usCountry}}“Fortunately or unfortunately, when he plays this season, everywhere he goes, he's going to have a home crowd and a home support, because of what he has done. We have felt that years ago when we had our own icon, Sachin Tendulkar. No matter where we went throughout India, we had that support,” Pollard said, as quoted by ESPNCricinfo.
{{/usCountry}}Sachin Tendulkar, widely considered as one of the greatest batters in the history of the game, received massive support in all stadiums across the country during the Indian Premier League. He played his final edition in 2013, and had also retired from international cricket during the same year.
Dhoni, meanwhile, has already retired from the international game; he called time on his Team India career in 2020 and it is widely speculated that the 2023 season could be his last in the IPL.