Aadi's Sports Corner

Captain Cool, Leader, GOAT, God of Cricket, The Best……..

So many titles for just one man, Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Today, I don’t even know what to call him. He just means a lot more to me. Something that stretches beyond the worldly relation of a superstar and a fan.

And a small correction there, he’s not a superstar, he’s the ROCKING SUPER MEGASTAR “MS DHONI” for me.

This isn’t the story of a cricketer who struggled and rose to fame because of his hard work. It is about a cricketer and his fan, and how they lived through the lows and the achievements together, even when the cricketer did not know about this fan’s existence.

2010 IPL….

A completely new concept of T-20 cricket that had taken the entire nation by storm for the past 2 years. This was the first time I heard about a man named MS Dhoni and his team, Chennai Super Kings, who won the trophy for the very first time.

This wasn’t a connection being formed, but truly the beginning of something unique in my life.

Dhoni was the first cricketer I heard about and he was the only cricketer I knew for a couple of years. Interestingly enough, despite staying in Mumbai, I knew Dhoni’s name even before that of Sachin Tendulkar.

2011 World Cup Final….

3 wickets down. A man walks out in the middle. The only player I knew back then, was this man with the number 7 on his jersey. Little did I know, he was there to create history being the captain of India.

As the match drew  to an end, the eyes of a 6-year-old child sparkled with light as he saw this man hitting a six and the commentator saying “Dhoni finishes off in style. India lift the World Cup after 28 years!!!!”

At that moment, I just started jumping on the bed and hugged my dad who was so delighted at the fact that India had finally won the World Cup.

12 years later, I just think, why was I so happy that day. I did not know a head or tail about cricket. I did not even know what a Cricket World Cup was, and what it meant to people.

But today I realise, I wasn’t jumping for India winning the World Cup, I was celebrating seeing MS hit that six into the crowd. That was the power he possessed, mesmerising a 6-year-old, just by hitting an iconic six.

2 months later, my dad shared with me that Dhoni and CSK won the IPL once again. That’s the day I decided, I’m going to follow this guy, he’s going to be my favourite cricketer.

I started following IPL for Dhoni and CSK. I would just keep on watching every match of theirs with the same passion and enthusiasm.

In 2014, I was super-excited for the beginning of the new season. CSK’s opening match was against Kings XI Punjab, now known as ‘Punjab Kings,’ a team I thought we would brush aside with great ease.

I skipped going to Church that day as I thought, I needed to see Mahi winning this one. Unfortunately, we lost the match and I went to the bedroom and cried for an hour. Nearly even sobbed. Even in a league game of a tournament like IPL, I couldn’t see my favourite player loosing.

2015 World Cup….

A great campaign seeing India reach the semi-final winning all the matches on their way. It was my first ever World-Cup that I diligently followed. The semi-final match did not go according to plan and we were losing wickets while chasing 332.

Only one positive image I had in my head was, Dhoni…… finishes off in style again. That fairytale was not going to come true again. But he did not disappoint, making 65, just to help us loose with grace.

Later that year, CSK was banned for 2 years. The lowest feeling for me as a cricket fan. Cricket in India is like a religion and IPL teams are worshipped by us. Hearing the news that your favourite team won’t be playing in the IPL for 2 years, after yet another successful season where they finished as runners-up, is a feeling no fan deserves to experience.

Those 2 years, were possibly the toughest for me to watch IPL. Not seeing my favourite team play and to see your idol don the colours of a different team, just made it tough to process everything. Questions would arise everyday, will I ever see my Chennai Super Kings again? Will I be able to see Mahi in that yellow jersey in my life ever again?! The newspapers and the media really burnt through the team. They accused MS of match fixing, which definitely were false allegations  for a 11 year old to hear. It even became difficult to read the sports columns as they would all only be bashing the player and the team I loved from the bottom of my heart.

There was one positive thought “DHONI AND CSK WILL RETURN TO WIN THIS TROPHY AND SHOW THAT WE DESERVE IT.”

For those 2 years, despite all the chaos, my man never disappointed me on the international stage.

The final of the Asia Cup, 23 runs to win, 11 balls left, comes in Super-Mahi to grab the win with three humongous sixes. That’s what a captain and a finisher would do to win a trophy for their country.

Later, the same year, he showed the world that there is no cricketing mastermind like him anywhere. In a must win match against Bangladesh, where all hope was lost, he got that exact field set-up, the perfect last ball run-out, just to keep us alive in the tournament.

We unfortunately lost in the semi-finals against the West Indies, the second time I cried for him losing out, but that tournament will always be remembered for his presence of mind in that one match.

In 2017, he decided to step down as the captain of the Indian Cricket team. It came as a major shock to everyone, but essence of this big a decision was much more, beyond our understanding.

He promised to play for India and represent us in 2019 Cricket World Cup in England and to continue mentoring the new generation of players to come in.

India lost the 2017 Champions Trophy final against Pakistan and as expected, MS was at the receiving end of the public and media wrath and there were statements telling him to retire. That’s where many knew, the beast is going to wake up again.

2018 CSK returns.

This was our year. This was our moment. We knew Dhoni will be giving his all to get rid of the stains on him and the team over the past 2 years.

 This was a completely new team. In the first ever meeting, I saw my idol, tear up- while giving a speech. The perfect representation of what the fans had gone through over the past few years.

They were going to win it for the fans. For them who waited for their return for 2 years and never stopped supporting them.

The new thing this time around was that wherever CSK went to play-Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore the stadium would be filled with yellow and the fans would erupt chanting DHONI DHONI DHONI.

In a match in Bangalore, CSK was down at 71-4 in 9 overs. The Legend walks in, hits 7 sixes and a four, 65 not out and an iconic six at the end, to chase down 205 and win the match. This was the Dhoni we all wanted to see for years and here he is.

We won the IPL that year and the best feeling was seeing Dhoni walk up on stage and collect the trophy for the 3^rd time.

The following year we fell short in the final and ended as runner’s up losing the final by 1 run. It was quite disappointing, but a season for Mahi fans, where he was the top run-scorer for the team.

ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.

We were on a roll. In the semi-final, with the game in our hands. We thought we had won it and……

The world around us crashed. All the star batsmen fell off early on and came in The Man, The Myth, The Legend.

It was tough, but we knew he could help us chase it against New Zealand. He took us to the finish line and with 23 runs to win, the dream and hearts of millions of Indian cricket fans were shattered.

MS Dhoni, was run-out with 23 runs to win. He cried that day as he walked back to the pavilion. I cried and all his fans did as we wanted him to win the World Cup in his last ever season for India. But who knew that this was his last ever match for India…..

In 2020, he announced his retirement from the Indian Cricket team. He never got the farewell he deserved, but he would play IPL. Indian Cricket had just lost it’s greatest player ever.

He won the IPL again in 2021. But we never knew when his last ever match in cricket would be and when he would finally decide to say an ultimate goodbye to the beautiful game.

In IPL 2023, we would just see the match for him. This could potentially be his last season ever. He did entertain us with some great sixes this season and the wait to see him bat was definitely worth it. He won it once again and promised to return next year if he could and if his body supported him.

My friend tells me….. that you’ll cry when he announces to go this time. I did not cry that night because I knew, that he is going to come back. Just that one instinct that I have within me.

He asked Rayudu, a player who was to retire, to come and receive the trophy, while he just stood behind as his teammates celebrated.

Being selfless is one thing, but being down to Earth and humble is something different which only he possesses.

I don’t know when he”ll  be leaving, but he’s definitely left me with a lot of memories.