Rising Pune Supergiants' MS Dhoni still in the hearts of the Chennaites

Rising Pune Supergiant have won the first qualifier in the tenth season of the Indian Premier League to ensure themselves a place in the grand finals on the 21st May. The Supergiant beat the favourites and table-toppers Mumbai Indians by 20 runs to be the first team to beat the home side in a Qualifier apart from the Chennai Super Kings.

Leading the way for the Supergiant was none other than the man known for his dynamism MS Dhoni with his Spartan willow and at his favourite stadium Wankhede. It was the first time that the Supergiant had reached their place in the finals after two seasons in the tournament. However, it was not the only occasion where the former skipper has been in the finals, having already taken part in six finals till date with this one being the seventh.

‘Thala Dhoni’, the voice of Chennai

After all, the fans were cheering for their ‘Thala’ Dhoni. But, they were also sad that he wasn’t in their favourite yellow jersey but was in a rather purple one.

“I have been a part of CSK’s journey for eight years now. But unfortunately they are not playing, so I am supporting Pune because that’s where MS Dhoni is playing” Saravanan, the super fan of captain MS Dhoni who is often seen in yellow with Dhoni’s name painted on his body, told CricketNext.

Saravanan was definitely not happy with that fact that his Thala was not the captain of the Supergiant, but he still applauds the efforts of the former RPS skipper on their way to the finals.

“Yesterday Dhoni played well to reach the final. I want Dhoni to reach the final for every team that he plays. Seeing him happy makes me happy,” he said.

“The same Harsh Goenka who described the appointment of Steve Smith as a captain of the RPS as a great move stood up and applauded Dhoni for his performance in Qualifier 1. That is how a champion replies to criticism,” Srijesh Murali, happy with his star’s performance on the field, said to Cricketnext.

Another fan, R.U Vignesh, who claims to be a die-hard Dhoni and CSK fan summed up the mood of the cricket crazy city saying: “As a CSK fan it’s disappointing to see MS Dhoni in some other team, but it feels nice to see him reach another final.”

Dhoni, who came in to bat in the 13th over smashed the ball to all parts of the ground, with 40 runs off just 26 balls. His knock ensured that the Supergiant’s could muster a total of 162 runs in their 20 overs. It’s clear who Chennai fans will be rooting for in the IPL final (Supergiant), but only till their team (CSK) returns to the league after serving their suspension.