Happy Birthday MSD!!!

Hello dear readers!!!

Welcome back to the Sports Blog!! Firstly, I would like to thank all those who supported me throughout the IPL 2023 on Instagram, wherein everyday updates were posted about each match! A blog post for the Indian Premier League was definitely on the cards, but due to the rude intrusion of my semester exams almost exactly 2 days after the IPL Final, it has taken me this long to come up with one. Once I had acknowledged my delay, I needed a special day, a special occasion, for this post to release. And here it is, on the birthday of the evergreen Captain Cool, 11 – time IPL Finalist, 5 – time IPL winner, the king of the reigning champions of the IPL, the most successful captain that our country has ever produced – Mahendra Singh Dhoni!!! He led Chennai Super Kings to an enigmatic, record-equalling 5^th IPL Title this year, thus statistically becoming the most successful Captain in IPL history. Let’s take a look at how the IPL 2023 shaped up, and how the Yellow Army emerged triumphant.

The Evergreen Skipper 

MSD’s IPL journey for this year began with a very rare, unexpected hurdle even before the tournament commenced. 2 days before the opener, wherein CSK faced GT, the skipper was seen walking with a knee brace on his left leg, and was struggling to run in between the wickets – something he’s usually the fastest at. Fans and teammates were worried alike, as it cast a doubt over his participation in the tournament. But we’re talking about M S Dhoni here. Almost every other team’s regular captain had some issue or the other, and sat out for at least one match, and at most the entire season. But the leader of CSK never missed any of the 16 matches, and continued to keep wickets for each & every one of them. His mere presence on the field was what every single cricket fan wanted to experience this season. He didn’t disappoint, and the sheer amount of care and respect he gave his fans throughout the season equalled the support and encouragement the fans gave him.

The Super Kings’ journey was turbulent throughout the season in terms of injuries. Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Deepak Chahar, and many other players sat out at different points in the season. But nothing, literally nothing, deterred the team’s steady progress through the tournament. Led ably by MS, the batting order was always a strength for the team. Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ajinkya Rahane and Shivam Dube were consistent throughout the season, and provided a belief that the batsmen could bail the team out from the worst possible situations. Ravindra Jadeja showed why he’s the best all-rounder in the country, and his contributions across the games were simply invaluable. The bowling unit was severely inexperienced, and it was quite evident. But Dhoni’s trusted lieutenant, Dwayne Bravo, who took charge as CSK’s bowling coach this season, groomed the youngsters splendidly. Under the watchful eyes and keen advice of M S Dhoni on the field, Matheesha Pathirana and Tushar Deshpande turned out to be amazing pace bowlers for the team, taking the other teams by surprise. They assisted Deepak Chahar in forming a decent pace attack. Dhoni ensured that his team worked like a well-oiled machine, and was in charge of everything that happened on the field.

The Man. The Myth. The Legend

Let’s now move on to Dhoni’s performance. He knew his physical limitations while batting, and hence ensured that he didn’t step in to bat if he could avoid it. But whenever he did, it was celebration. Owing to his difficulty in running, he dealt in sixes. Every six he hit throughout the season was massive, and CSK fans celebrated every time as though the title had been won. This started right from the opening match with GT, and hence, the entire IPL had a Yellove phenomenon to it. Be it a home or an away match, yellow jerseys thronged the stadium, and all they wanted to see was MSD, perhaps for one last time, in their city. The Chepauk stadium was 8 times lucky, and I, once. 

I was able to go for a CSK match, and it being the first time I ever went to a stadium for a cricket match, my excitement knew no bounds. It was in the stadium, when MSD hit 2 consecutive sixes to finish off the first innings, that I realized that Dhoni had completed his transition from a great player to a legendary player. The aura he emanated on field, and the amount of match awareness he had at every instance of the game, were wonderful. Dhoni’s control over his field settings was uncanny, and batsmen would wonder in awe how on earth a fielder had been placed at the position the catch was taken, while just the previous ball the entire area had been empty. MSD did a fine job behind the wickets, brilliantly controlling the field and bringing in fantastic bowling changes. His agility as a wicketkeeper was as sharp as ever, and he still remained the best keeper throughout the tournament.

The tournament progressed in an exciting manner, with teams grappling to come up to the top 4 spots. Certain trends started appearing in the points table once the tournament was around its halfway stage. SRH and DC were fighting it out to finish last. PBKS and KKR blew hot and cold, without really having a practical chance at going to the top of the table. RR and RCB were 2 teams I felt really bad for – ideally, they both should’ve qualified, but circumstances just didn’t click despite the abundance of talent in their teams. MI scraped through to the top 4 because of RCB’s loss, while LSG maintained their 3^rd position due to some early victories they had bagged. The Super Kings finished 2^nd on the table after solid performances in the league games, while GT threatened to defend their title, as they were simply invincible. The end of the league stage was marked by a wonderful moment – during the last CSK home match, the team did a lap of honour to thank the fans. At that time, Sunil Gavaskar, a World Cup winning batting legend of Indian cricket, came running towards Dhoni and got his shirt signed from the home captain. This was testimony to MSD’s stardom – where even legends of the game were in awe of his stature

When one legend meets another

The playoffs was where CSK peaked at the right time. Having gone into their 12^th playoffs, MSD’s calm demeanor rubbed off onto the entire team, and the yellow army held its nerve during crunch situations. Winning the Qualifier 1 gave them a direct ticket to the Final. The Final itself was a spectacle, being a first of its kind in many aspects. It was the first time that the teams that played the season opener met again in the Final, the first time that the Final went into reserve day due to rain, the first time DLS (it's a separate story) came into picture during an IPL Final, and so on. As CSK’s chase commenced in the Final, rain played spoilsport and delayed the match so much that it crossed midnight and slipped into the 3^rd official day that the match was being held. Ruturaj Gaikwad, who probably is tipped to be the next long time captain of CSK due to his calmness that resembles Dhoni’s, ensured that the openers didn’t panic during the wait, while Dhoni himself kept the rest of the dressing room calm. In the end, Ravindra Jadeja showed that he did learn from his captain, and finished the match off scintillatingly to hand CSK its 5^th IPL trophy.

The Moment of Victory

The IPL concluded with a cliffhanger. Dhoni thanked the fans for making the season special for him, and perhaps for the first time, was visibly emotional. He made a promise, that if his body permits, he’ll certainly work hard to play at least one more season of the toughest T20 league, just as a gift to his fans. This statement came from a man who had been enduring a knee problem for 2 months, one that was so serious that he had to undergo surgery to rectify it, once the tournament was complete. This promise of his showed the cricketing fraternity why M S Dhoni is celebrated the way he is – he is a man of the people. He is a man who ignores negativity and just focuses on the love and admiration his fans shower on him. He is a man who values and respects it without getting complacent about it. 

And that’s why today’s birthday boy is a legendary human being, let alone a legendary cricketer. We may or may not see him in action again on the cricketing field, but this IPL has proved to be one of the most cherishable seasons for all the fans of CSK, and its talismanic Skipper – Mahendra Singh Dhoni

 

The Champions of IPL 2023 - Chennai Super Kings

Happy Birthday, MSD!!!

Until next time,

Subrahmanyam

Sports Blogger