Speculation is rife that the ongoing season of the IPL could possibly be MS Dhoni's last season for Chennai Super Kings and more importantly, in the IPL. During the match against Kolkata Knight Riders, which ended in defeat for his team Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Dhoni did a special lap of honour at the Chepauk stadium in Chennai. He thanked fans for their unwavering support over the years and even shook hands with security officials. This gesture may be a hint about his retirement plans, though CSK's progression to the playoffs is still not guaranteed.
Dhoni also engaged in some playful moments with fans, hitting some balls into the crowd with a racquet and tossing a few jerseys in their direction. He even signed autographs for the policemen at the venue. Fans went berserk seeing their favourite player lead the team out after the game, and even batting great Sunil Gavaskar ran up to Dhoni for an autograph.
Dew made things difficult
Despite the excitement and fanfare, the match did not go CSK's way, as they lost by six wickets. Dhoni attributed the loss to the impact of the dew and other conditions.
"The dew made a big difference in the second innings. We can't really blame any of our bowlers. Just that the conditions had a big impact on the game," Dhoni, who waved to the crowd, said at the post-match presentation.
"When we bowled the first ball in the second innings, we knew we needed 180. But there was no way we could have got 180 on that pitch." Batting first after winning the toss, CSK could only make 144 for six. Shivam Dube top-scored with an unbeaten 48 off 34 balls at the Chepauk, while there were two wickets apiece for KKR spinners Sunil Narine (2/15) and Varun Chakravarthy (2/36).
