IPL 2024: Dhoni and the eternal fear factor

Bengaluru: The broadcasters should have known better than to loop in an advertisement when MS Dhoni was expected to come out to bat. 

That’s just someone not doing their job right because Thala’s entry is one of the most anticipated moments in cricket, and it shouldn’t be relegated to only those at the stadium. Everyone deserves their slice of the myth. 

Instead, when they returned from a series of ads, Ravindra Jadeja was on strike and Dhoni was at the non-striker’s end. 

Royal Challengers Bengaluru needed to defend 90 runs from 30 balls to win. Chennai Super Kings were desperate for 72 runs from 30 balls to qualify for the Indian Premier League play-offs.

It was a tough ask for the man with 42 years and 317 days on the balls of his feet, but this isn’t just anyone, so, the Chennai faithful asked anyway. Actually, even those who wanted RCB to qualify didn’t want Dhoni to lose. One way or the other, they were going to get their money’s worth.

Those on the field, though, didn’t see it that way. There was panic writ on the faces of RCB’s players.

In this day and age of high scores and crazier chasing narratives, there’s a general degree of apprehension applied by defending teams because anyone with a long enough lever can change the game. But, this - Dhoni’s presence - was not only about the fear factor. This was respect for the master. 

Virat Kohli’s eyes darted. Faf du Plessis’ face suddenly looked its age. Yash Dayal looked like he was on his first day of school. Mohammed Siraj looked about as clueless as he does when he’s being hit. Lockie Ferguson even ended up bowling an uncharacteristic beamer in his 18-run over. The wet ball didn't help the bowlers' cause either.

All this because one man and his reputation strode out to the middle with a conviction that all things are possible. It’s the kind of confidence you earn when you’ve won almost everything there is to win in cricket.

His calm has an equally impactful effect on his partners at the crease and that was evident in Jadeja’s 42 because till Dhoni is around, the game is on. 

RCB know this all too well because they have been on the receiving end of ‘Dhoni: The Stoic Closer’ all too many times to ignore that he could do it again. 

Sure, his injury-ravaged knees might have taken away some of the prowess, especially when it comes to running between wickets. But boy, can the man use his core to hit a ball. Saturday night was yet another one of those cameos he has made his trademark in this edition of the IPL, but he wasn’t able to carry his side to where he wanted. 

With 17 needed to qualify, Dhoni struck a 110-metre six. That stroke alone must have been a conflict for the RCB faithful’s watching because while it sucked the hopes out, eliciting an ‘oh, no not again’ in a whisper, the cricket fan in them must have felt pride for Dhoni isn’t about Chennai, he is a summation of what we as a country are capable of. 

The next ball, he was out. Dayal’s back-of-the-hand slower ball was toe-ended to Swapnil Singh at deep square. The stadium erupted with joy, but it also leaned over to watch Dhoni leave, cross those ropes, and sit sweat-riddled in the dugout until the last ball was bowled. 

Maybe he had tears in his eyes or maybe it was just a combination of sweat and angles. Either way, you could tell that the night had taken something out of him. It didn't help that he was made to wait on the fence to shake hands with his opponents and eventually walked off without greeting them. 

Granted, he has an entire year to rehabilitate his body and return to playing, but the level of motivation needed to help a body find its way back after such lengthy lay-offs is not easy. 

While he has made it all look cool, even his recall mane from 2007, it’s only natural to assume that he is done. Frankly, he has given each of us more than we deserve so his leaving will be understood through the heartbreak.