Wankhede welcomes Mahi with a standing ovation

The popularity of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the former captain, has gone up a notch higher at the back end of his illustrious career. The fans are eager to get a glimpse of his crafty batting and an innovative wicketkeeping whenever he is on the ground. A similar thing happened in the first ODI of the three-match series at Wankhede in Mumbai on Sunday. The boisterous crowd gave Mahi a standing ovation when he walked out to the middle after the dismissal of Dinesh Karthik

MS Dhoni, since passing the baton of captaincy to Virat Kohli earlier this year, has looked a completely different cricketer. He has played freely and looks even more fitter every time he plays a game for his country. Even at the age of 36, he can run faster than many of the youngsters and is active and attentive on the field. Dhoni also played a few crucial knock in the last couple of series against Sri Lanka and Australia and bailed the team out of the trouble.

BCCI posted the video

The official Twitter handle of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) posted the video of the standing ovation that the people of Wankhede gave to Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The Ranchi boy is extremely popular in Mumbai especially as he had won the World Cup for India in 2011 with a gigantic six over long on against Sri Lanka. He had also played a magnificent knock of 91* runs off just 78 deliveries which eventually turned out to be match-winning. The message posted by BCCI for their followers was, “A standing ovation for @msdhoni as he walks into bat at the Wankhede Stadium #INDvNZ.”

Here’s the thread:

Can Dhoni provide the finishing touch?

MS Dhoni is playing the first ODI at Wankhede and in the middle currently with the skipper Virat Kohli. While the latter is looking ever so solid, the former has got set and would love score some quick runs at the death. After 35 overs, the score of Indian team read 172/4 and must be eyeing a score around 280 on a pitch which is getting slower and slower. Dhoni is unbeaten on 15 off 22 deliveries and Kohli is playing well 70 off 86 balls.