'A match made in heaven', the intertwining of destinies, an ode to MS Dhoni, and a story to cherish for his fans:- Chennai and its Thala!

 

            17^th July 1996, the day when the erstwhile Madras was rechristened to Chennai. The city was starting from square one after erasing the final vestiges of British Colonialism. It marked the starting point of a sojourn towards creating a new identity.

             Going about 1600 kms north, an unassuming 16 year old, at around the same time, was slowly becoming the regular wicket-keeper for the Commando Cricket Club, thus erasing the final vestiges of his identity as a goal-keeper and starting from square one, a sojourn towards creating a new identity.

                A new start it was for Chennai, the mushrooming of new leaders in the city, the blossoming of the IT sector in and out of the city, the impetus towards engineering that complimented the industrial environment in the city, Chennai was slowly and steadily punching above its weight and making waves within the county.

                And so was it for the boy in Ranchi, despite all the scrutiny that he received for his unorthodox keeping and batting, Mahendra Singh Dhoni was well and truly making waves across the country with his consistent performances for the Jharkand team and India A. He came through the grinds slogging it out and finally an international cap was not far away from the corner.

                26^th December 2004, an eerie day in the history of India, more so in Tamil Nadu and Chennai, a Tsunami of inconceivable proportions wiped out the entire city of Chennai apart from several other parts of India. A disaster that threatened to crumble the identity, that the city had worked so hard to create.

                 3 days before prior to this, on the 23^rd of December 2004, the world came crashing down for MS Dhoni, as his happiness was shortlived in his debut, when he got out for 0. It didn’t stop there. Even after all this, Dhoni put his feet firmly down and carefully created an identity for himself, which enabled him to earn a spot in the team for the 2007 WC. But as fate would have it, the whole Indian team along with Dhoni had a dismal tournament. Effigies were burnt, stones were pelted, an identity that he so diligently created was being crumbled before his own eyes.

 

                    4 months later, a chance for redemption beckoned MSD. As most of the senior members opted out of the then test tube experiment called T20 World Cup, the captaincy hat was thrown to the enigma from Ranchi. On 24^th September 2007, he would make that hat his crown, as he led India to a glorious victory in the finals versus Pakistan. Effigies were garlanded, pelting of stones was replaced by showering of flowers, in a span of 5 months, the turnaround that Dhoni orchestrated was more stunning than a triple backflip on the trot.

                    Then the two entities met, and it was love at first sight. Chennai needed a poster boy, and Dhoni needed a companion,  it was a match made in heaven. The things the two went on to achieve from that point were unbelievable. Chennai became the second home for scores of people, because of MSD, and he had a few years where everything he touched became gold. IPL titles, Champions league, World Cup, Champions Trophy, Asia Cup, No 1. Test team, Best wicketkeeper, Best finisher, Best middle order batter, Best captain, and still this list is non-exhaustive!

 

                    Everything looked perfect for the dream catcher, the destiny’s child, call him whatever you wish. Then 2015 happened. India loses the WC semi finals (and its startling how people 5 years before now, asked Dhoni about his retirement!)

And boom! Chennai Super Kings, the crossroad that united Chennai and Dhoni was banned from the IPL for 2 years. The journey towards achieving the unheard of , got a reality check. There was a halt, fans waited with bated breath, while others shrugged away saying, well that’s it, that’s a full stop.

 

                    Those two years were unimaginably terrible and took a heavy toll on both. Chennai was hit with a flood in 2015, again threatening to push the city to the wall, while its Thala averaged just 27.80 in 2016, the worst ever since his debut year(2004). For the first time in the history of IPL, a team led by Dhoni didn’t qualify for the IPL playoffs. Dhoni also gave away captaincy for India, despite him being the only captain till now who has won all the ICC trophies. It looked like the end, but no, it was the beginning of a new chapter.

 

                    “Thirumbi vanthuten nu sollu”. The words were etched in the memory of every CSK fan, as it became the tagline for the reunion of Chennai and Dhoni in 2018. Dhoni was having a poor time in international cricket. His average hit its nadir in that year, which was worse than 2016. Chennai Super Kings were written off and termed ‘the dad's army’, A fullstop it should have been, but no, it was a comma. Chennai Super Kings returned with aplomb to take home a 3^rd IPL title.

                    The year following that in 2019, Dhoni averaged 60, and CSK went on to qualify for another IPL final, only to lose heartbreakingly in the final against their nemesis. The world cup happened, India rolled on to the semifinals where they were tormented by the New-Zealand. Dhoni stood in there, plugged in, amidst all the chaos happening at the other end, and scored a valiant 50, before a fateful Martin Guptill throw would find Dhoni an inch short of his crease.

 

                     The circle was complete now, a career that began with a runout on 0, ended with another on 50(which was also his average).  A career that began with a Tsunami and ended with a pandemic.

 

IPL 2020, will be an emotional roller-coaster, because for one last time Dhoni will come out on the ground, marshalling his troops, and carrying the burden of hopes of million Chennai fans. And it is one final chance for Cricket to give a fitting finish to the man who has finished many a match in style.

Chennai will roar for its Thala, for one last time, but the Thala will be horizons across in UAE, quietly getting the job done, so that CSK can roar again.

 

 

 Thank you Dhoni.

Pranaav S.