The iconic Eden Gardens holds a special place in the heart of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain MS Dhoni. And like all grounds across the country, Dhoni is immensely popular in this part of the world. During the toss against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Wednesday, Dhoni received a warm reception at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. Dhoni played a lot of cricket in Kolkata when he was younger, so he has a sentimental attachment to the venue.
The fans raised the decibel to such an extent cheering for Dhoni, that it was difficult to hear the CSK veteran as he spoke to Ravi Shastri at the toss. He was even seen leaning forward to listen to Shastri, which describes how much of fanfare he enjoys in the city. Having played club, U-16, and U-19 cricket in Kolkata, Dhoni claimed that the ground felt like home.
"Well I have played a lot of cricket over here growing up in U-16, U19 and club level. I have already represented the same zone so it's like a home ground for me with the amount of cricket I have played here. As I said, quite a few underage cricket, zonal, Ranji Trophies and also a lot of ODIs in this venue. I have played a lot of games not only in the Eden Gardens but also in the surrounding areas," said Dhoni.
In response to a question concerning CSK's goals for the rest of the season, Dhoni stated that they will be searching for answers for the following campaign. According to the CSK interim captain, they would take advantage of the opportunity and give players some chances. "I think what is important is get answers for next year. You maybe caught up saying that we want to win the remaining games of the season but it's important for us to look for answers for next season. We are giving a few players chances but also we want to field a Playing 11 or 12 which is strong for the game."
"When you have qualified with 4 league games to play or when you are out of the competition so early, it gives us an opportunity to try a few players and see what they bring to the table," said Dhoni.
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And Dhoni made his return to the venue a memorable one by becoming the first wicketkeeper to achieve 200 dismissals in IPL (153 catches and 47 stumpings).
Dhoni stumped Sunil Narine off Noor Ahmad on the first ball of the eighth over. The Afghan spinner bowled a tossed-up delivery around middle and leg as Narine came down the wicket only to be beaten, which struck on the pads and rolled backwards. Dhoni, who is renowned for his excellent wicket-keeping, did the rest.
On the fourth ball of the same over, Dhoni caught an edge off Angkrish Raghuvansh to get to the milestone.
Meanwhile, KKR managed 179/6 in their 20 overs as Ahmad took 4 wickets and conceded 31 runs from his 4 overs.
CSK went to chase down the total with two balls to spare and won the match by two wickets as Dhoni ensured he hung around till the job was done.
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