Fans were not shy about heaping praise on Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni after he led his squad to victory against the Gujarat Titans in Monday's electrifying final of Indian Premier League 2023. Dhoni has been trending on Twitter since the final fixture which saw the result come down to the last ball against the Hardik Pandya-led side. This is the fifth time that Dhoni and CSK have won the IPL.
In light of CSK’s victory, a picture of Dhoni with the entire Chennai squad has now gone viral on social media platforms. The picture from the post-match ceremony shows the jubilant squad celebrating in front of the IPL trophy even as the former World Cup-winning captain takes a few steps back to let his players shine.
“This picture defines MS Dhoni. He will be behind everyone but when there is a need, he will be at the front. Thank you, Mahi,” wrote a fan while sharing the picture of ‘Thala’ Dhoni and the CSK team.
This picture defines MS Dhoni.
He will be behind everyone but when there is a need, he will be at the front.
Thank you, Mahi. pic.twitter.com/WYWc9Muszf
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) May 29, 2023
The picture has been viewed 4.98 lakh times on Twitter and gathered over 35,000 likes and over 5,100 retweets.
“Haters gonna hate, MSD gonna rise. Even their idol idolises Dhoni,” wrote one fan. “He wasn't able to contribute with bat but without that stumping GT would've made 250 and that catch of Saha too,” added another fan.
Dhoni’s own batting performance in the final was lacklustre after he was bowled for a duck for the fifth time ever in the IPL. However, his captaincy and behind-the-wicket performance was on form as ever. A quick catch meant that Wriddhiman Saha was sent back to the GT dugout and a brilliant stumping also eliminated Shubman Gill. However, GT still managed to put up a total of 214/4, much thanks to the effort of Sai Sudarshan who scored 96 off of 47. With a target of 171 for the CSK side after rain played spoilsport and their innings was shortened, the batting order performed well to make it to the target with the last ball.
