When CSK skipper MS Dhoni was batting vs. LSG, Jio Cinema, the IPL’s digital broadcasters, attracted 1.7 crore viewers, the most so far in IPL 2023.
It was to be anticipated that when MS Dhoni walks to bat at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, there will be the loudest applause. Even then, it took a few minutes for the noise to truly hit home when it actually occurred. In the final over of CSK’s Monday match against Lucknow Super Giants, after Ravindra Jadeja’s wicket fell, Dhoni moved into the middle with his usual quick stride. The crowded throng had no boundaries. They shouted at the top of their lungs and raised their voices to unheard-of decibel levels, resulting in a rare, to put it mildly, collective display of ecstasy and devotion. Dhoni had played his final IPL encounter in Chennai after a wait of 1426 days.
Wood appeared a little uneasy due to the tension of bowling to Dhoni in the final over and the deafening din. He ran in, banged it halfway into the field while fully understanding what the crowd and Dhoni wanted. Even the finest people can falter under stress. When bowling to Dhoni in the final overs, a short ball, no matter how quick, is the last thing one should consider. Wood received the treatment, as was to be anticipated. Outside the off stump, Dhoni retrieved the climbing ball and pulled it. The ball dropped from the mobile torches-dotted night sky and fell far into the stands. The course was 89 metres long. It was, however, difficult to quantify the noise it produced.