Yellow rules the Chepauk on a breezy evening
The Hindu
At 6.30 p.m., Mahendra Singh Dhoni stepped onto the field to join his teammates in practice. Appropriately, the eagle is coming number from the movie Vikram blared from the speakers and the excited crowd welcomed their Thala
At 6.30 p.m., Mahendra Singh Dhoni stepped onto the field to join his teammates in practice. Appropriately, the eagle is coming number from the movie Vikram blared from the speakers and the excited crowd welcomed their Thala.
It was time for “Yellove” to come back home at M.A. Chidambaram stadium in Chepauk. And what a come back it was!
The closer you got to the stadium, yellow became the only colour you saw. But the very obvious truth, evidenced by the majority of Dhoni jerseys, is that fans are here for him.
As Adhithya Balasubramanian, a fan who has travelled across the country for IPL, said: “This is extremely emotional because it’s possible that these are the last two months for Chennai’s adopted son as a cricketer”. But as the line up was announced every player received their bit of deserved love from spectators. As the countdown began for the Chennai Super Kings Vs. Lucknow Super Giants match, a stray dog made its way onto the field and proceeded to play tag with staff and players to the cheers of the crowd.
Openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway took Chennai Super Kings to an easy 101 runs in 8 overs; the former’s three sixes in one over cemented his place in the fans’ hearts. “They are making it seem like I can be a cricketer too”, laughed a fan. However, Chepauk acknowledges good cricket. So, when Gaikwad was caught, spectators applauded the fielding despite the obvious upset.
Karan Patel, who has travelled from Gujarat for this match, is confident of CSK emerging on top. “I’m watching him (Dhoni) after a long time”, said Srushti, who is returning to Chepauk after a gap of several years, “and it is definitely an emotional moment”. This match marked Dhoni’s return to Chepauk after almost four years and rumours are doing the rounds that his last match will be this season. However, as Kaushik said: “Let him do it (retire) his way. We don’t need to speculate”.
No room for complacency till counting is completed, Chandrababu Naidu tells TDP-BJP-JSP contestants. The TDP-BJP-JSP alliance will register a comfortable victory in the general elections over the YSRCP, he says. Alleging that the YSRCP has conspired to create disturbances on the counting day, the TDP national president advises the chief counting agents and their teams to see to it that the officials adhere to norms related to counting.