New Delhi: Unexpected Indian Premier League (IPL) 2017 finalists Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) have finally acknowledged the fact that there actually exists a team called MS Dhoni, just in time ahead of Sunday's final.
Dhoni, the former India captain, is an institution within the institution called cricket; and to his fans, 'Captain Cool' is a demi-god. But during the course of the season, RPS owners seemed to have infuriated, or rather offended many of Dhoni's fans by knowingly or unknowingly belittling India's most successful captain ever.
But, RPS will enter their last game in the cash-rich tournament knowing well enough that they have got the blessings of millions of fans, thanks to a humbling Twitter post. For the record, there will be no RPS come next season. Along with The Gujarat Lions, RPS were roped in to fill the absence of suspended Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals after a Supreme Court order following the infamous 2013 IPL spot-fixing scandal which rocked the league.
And it's safe to assume that Dhoni will be headed to Chennai, when the now-suspended teams make a return to the IPL fold next year. Dhoni had previously led the Chennai franchise to two IPL titles.
This season, under Steve Smith's leadership, the Pune-based franchise punched above their weight, and did well to reach the title round, but their campaign was fraught with crisis, which mainly arose from the sacking of Mahendra Singh Dhoni as the captain of the team.
There was also one Harsh Goenka, brother of team owner Sanjiv, who every now and then, played the role of an instigator to perfection. It's a different matter that Harsh, most of the time, ended up becoming the butt of all jokes as Dhoni fans took no exception to his myriad of claims pertaining to the former captain's leadership qualities and form.
But on the eve of the grand finale against their neighbours from Mumbai, the Pune-based team has adopted a new name, that of Team Dhoni. They sure know the importance of Dhoni, and his ability to finish off any contest. Well, they also paid rich tributes to possibly the greatest finisher of the game, who patented a cricket shot called Helicopter Shot to be used is dire situations.
This unprecedented step will sure becalm many of Dhoni's enraged fans. Here's the tweet which made the difference:
Forgot what team you support? It's called M.S.Dhoni! #Helicopter @msdhoni #RangWahiJungNayi pic.twitter.com/20j1IrenSH
— RisingPuneSupergiant (@RPSupergiants) May 19, 2017
Dhoni played one of his typical knocks in the Qualifier 1 to beat Mumbai Indians, again. His 26-ball 40 with the help of five sixes helped Pune post a fighting total of 162 last Tuesday. And it proved more than enough for them.
