Is This The Last Time We Will See Him?

As the dust settled down at the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru at the end of an enthralling IPL match between RCB and CSK, many fans were left wondering whether this was the last time they had seen Mahendra Singh Dhoni in action.

Even though their teams were battling for a place in the play-offs, the fans were united in their support for the legendary Dhoni.

While the 42-year-old CSK talisman took a couple of good catches with the gloves, he played an entertaining cameo with the bat in the closing stages of the run chase, stroking 25 from 13 balls.

The whole stadium gave him a standing ovation as he walked back after his dismissal in the final over -- in what could be his final walk off a cricket field.

Like he has been doing in the past few seasons, Dhoni held himself back for the last few overs. He walked in at No. 8 with CSK struggling on 129/6 in the 15th over.

Even though his batting prowess has waned considerably in the last couple of years, even the most die-hard of RCB fans knew that the match was not over till Dhoni was out in the middle.

He got off the mark with a couple off Cameron Green through square leg and pulled the pacer's last ball fine on the leg side for a four.

Yash Dayal gifted the CSK great a full toss on the pads which he glanced fine for his second boundary. He in the company of Ravindra Jadeja stitched together a crucial partnership to get CSK back in the hunt.

13 runs off Dayal in the 17th over followed by 15 off Mohammed Siraj in the following over brought CSK in the range as they needed 35 from the last two overs to ensure they got to 201 and qualify for the play-offs even if they finished on the losing side.

Lockie Ferguson was taken apart for 18 runs with Dhoni smashing a full delivery over the covers for a four and Jadeja slamming the pacer for a four and a six in the penultimate over.

17 were needed from the final over to qualify. Dhoni sent the RCB into a tizzy when he swung the first ball from Dayal, a full toss, over fine leg for a massive 110 metres six. But he perished off the next ball, top edging the pull shot to be caught at deep square leg.

Dhoni stood in disbelief for a few seconds as he was dismissed for the first in this year's IPL before he made his way back to the dugout as the entire stadium cheered his final walk.

• IPL 2024