Dhoni's popularity in Chennai is on a different level.
Whenever Dhoni takes field, the Chennai crowd makes deafening noise. In fact, the passionate fans sometimes cheer the dismissal of their own team's batters so that they can see Dhoni wielding the willow.
Such is the craze of Dhoni that all these things sound too common nowadays. However, one fan recently stood out from the rest by doing something unique to show his love for the former CSK skipper.
The fan spent a whopping amount of Rs 64,000 just to get a glimpse of Dhoni along with his three daughters during CSK’s IPL 2024 fixture against KKR at Chepauk on April 8.
"I didn't get the tickets, so I bought them in black. It was a total of Rs 64,000. I am yet to pay the school fees. But we wanted to see MS Dhoni just once. My three daughters and I are very happy," the father told Sportwalk Chennai.
"My father has worked very hard to get these tickets. We were very happy when Dhoni came to play," one of the fan's daughters said.
Dhoni, who has barely batted in the ongoing IPL, promoted himself up to No. 5 spot against KKR, much to the delight of the Chepauk crowd.
When Dhoni came out to bat, the match was almost done and he remained unbeaten on 1* off 3 balls in CSK’s emphatic seven-wicket victory over KKR.
Earlier, the defending champions restricted Kolkata to a below-par total of 137/9 after opting to bowl first. Ravindra Jadeja (3/18), Tushar Deshpande (3/33), Mustafizur Rahman (2/22) and Maheesh Theekshana (1/28) were among the wickets for CSK.
In reply, the hosts rode on captain Ruturaj Gaikwad’s measured knock of 67* in 58 balls to overhaul the target with 14 deliveries to spare.