Chennai: On Monday, when Ravindra Jadeja was caught in the deep, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) fans at Chepauk didn’t feel any remorse. Instead, they cheered as their captain, MS Dhoni, walked into bat. With only one over left, there was high anticipation and expectations as Dhoni returned to the venue after three years. He did not disappoint, hitting the first two balls he faced for consecutive sixes. Dhoni scored 12 off 3 balls before getting out, contributing to CSK’s mammoth total of 217 runs in their return to Chepauk.

Ruturaj Gaikwad played a crucial role, scoring 57 runs, and was supported by his opening partner Devon Conway, who missed out on his fifty by just 3 runs. At the mid-innings break, Conway praised Gaikwad’s strong performance and spoke about the difficulties in batting against the spinners. He also shared his excitement at being at Chepauk and watching MS Dhoni play. “The message has been to just go out there and enjoy ourselves,” he added.