Thala At Chepauk After 4 Years

Mahendra Singh Dhoni was greeted by loud cheers when the Chennai Super Kings returned to their home ground at the M A Chidambaram Stadium after nearly four years.

As Dhoni & Co. return to action at their den, the captain spoke about the feeling, saying, 'It does mean a lot. Not to forget IPL started in 2008 but we've not played a lot of cricket here. If I am not wrong, we have played only six seasons where we played all the games. Even amongst them, a few stands were empty earlier due to various issues. This is the first time the full stadium will be operational and it will be house-full.'

'I feel very happy for the fans. It gives them the opportunity to host all the seven games and come back and watch the home team play,' he added.

Acknowledging the deafening roar at the jampacked Chepauk, Dhoni showcased his six-hitting exploits. Launching an all-out attack on Lucknow Super Giants pacer Mark Wood, the CSK skipper smoked back-to-back sixes to mark his return at the iconic venue.

With Thala turning back the clock for CSK faithful, Dhoni's batting exploits soon became the talk of the town on the Internet.

'Vintage DHONI #Mahimaarahahai @ChennaiIPL @IPL', tweeted Harbhajan Singh.

'A real treat for the Chennai fans. MS Dhoni smashing 2 sixes of his first 2 balls. Blockbuster stuff', tweeted Venkatesh Prasad.

Dhoni became the seventh player to score 5,000 runs in the IPL.

• IPL 2023