The MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) took on Delhi Capitals (DC) in their respective final IPL 2023 league stage match on May 20, at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. While DC is out if the race for playoffs, CSK need a win here to confirm their spot in the final four.
MS Dhoni fever has been at its peak throughout the IPL 2023, given the speculation around this being his final IPL tournament. While ‘Thala’ himself has not said anything several pundits and fans gave speculated about the CSK skipper’s future in the richest league in the world.
Roads leading up to the Arun Jaitley Stadium were filled with yellow shirts. An autorickshaw driver said he was genuinely surprised by the amount of yellow on the streets. Shirt sellers seemed to have only one jersey as No.7 sold like hotcakes.
Thousands of fans marched toward the stadium well ahead of the toss as they didn't want to miss the man walking onto the field for the toss.
When the CSK team bus arrived at the stadium 45 minutes before the toss, there was an uproar on the Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg. To see MS Dhoni and his teammates, fans surged into the traffic.
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Security struggled to control the crowd while the mobile cameras were in use. The team bus stopped briefly so that supporters could see their favorite cricket players. Many CSK players were filming the Dhoni frenzy on Delhi's streets with their cameras.
The Virat Kohli pavilion was reached by CSK players as fans raced to the stairs.
CSK won the toss on the day and opted to bat first against DC. The cheers were so loud that Danny Morrison had to use sign language to ask the CSK skipper want was his choice.
Playing XIs:
Delhi Capitals:
David Warner(c), Philip Salt(w), Rilee Rossouw, Yash Dhull, Aman Hakim Khan, Axar Patel, Lalit Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Chetan Sakariya, Khaleel Ahmed, Anrich Nortje
DC Impact subs: Mukesh Kumar, Prithvi Shaw, Praveen Dubey, Ripal Patel, and Abhishek Porel
Chennai Super Kings:
Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu, Shivam Dube, Moeen Ali, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni(w/c), Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Maheesh Theekshana
CSK Impact subs: Matheesha Pathirana, Mitchell Santner, Subranshu Senapathi, Shaik Rasheed, and Akash Singh
(India Today inputs)
