It had been trailed as a chance to glimpse the future. An opportunity for India’s potential captains-in-waiting to show their worth. And then the country’s greatest ever leader stole the show to prove old is still gold.
Neither Ruturaj Gaikwad or Shubman Gill stood a chance at the Chepauk Stadium on Tuesday night, as the great MS Dhoni farewell tour rumbles on and on.
There is supposed to be a transference of power underway at Chennai Super Kings, with Dhoni officially ceding the captaincy to Gaikwad at the start of this season.
Judged by the early evidence, it has been a smooth transition. Gaikwad is two from two after taking over the armband, and both have been resounding wins.
But a transference of airtime? Of attention? That is not likely to happen any time soon.
Dhoni remains the No 1 box office hit in Chennai. Even when he is doing his best not to be.
As the stadium revelled in Shivam Dube’s assault in the middle in CSK’s batting effort against Gujarat Titans, the camera panned in on the dressing room.
Gaikwad was contentedly ambling around taking in the play. And, unconsciously, Dhoni was blocking him off at every step.
Despite their performance on the field in their 63-run win – a “perfect” performance, according to Gaikwad – feeling like one long highlights reel, the biggest cheers of the night were emitted whenever Dhoni was on the big screen.
He didn’t really contribute a great deal to the game. He did not make it to the crease to bat, as CSK amassed 206/6. He took one – admittedly blinding – catch, diving away to his right.
Then did some pointing and field adjusting, while doing his best to remember he is not actually the one who is supposed to be the one doing the pointing and field adjusting anymore.
And yet the largest roar of the night came when Dhoni first appeared on the monitor.
Dube made a thrilling 22-ball 50. But when he reached the milestone, it felt like an anti-climax as Dhoni was no longer onscreen.
It received some polite applause, then the noise burst into a cacophony as Dhoni shown again, politely clapping his teammate.
Sameer Rizvi hit his first ball in IPL cricket for six, off the great Rashid Khan. It was met with a fitting roar. Again, it was only amplified when Dhoni appeared giving his approval.
Succession planning can be a tricky business. Following Dhoni is such an onerous task that CSK have avoided trying to think about for years.
The early signs are that Gaikwad is happy to operate within Dhoni’s shadow for now, deferring to the 42-year-old keeper’s better judgment.
His understated manner suits him. When Rachin Ravindra got the CSK innings off to a flyer against Gujurat, Gaikwad was happy to drop into his slipsteam, too.
He had some luck. Gaikwad was dropped by Sai Kishore off the fifth ball he faced, a chance at slip so regulation that Kevin Pietersen yelled “out!” on commentary.
CSK’s new leader reached 46 off 36 before departing. He even opted to forego the captain’s prerogative of reviewing his nick behind.
On the other side, it was perhaps not the night to make an informed assessment of Gill’s leadership credentials.
His commitment to attack – CSK had made 39 in 14 balls, and still he persisted with a slip – won him praise on commentary, but it did feel a little foolhardy.
Having struggled to find solutions during his side’s fielding effort, he did make a statement of intent first ball. Facing a massive target, he drilled a classical checked drive for six over the head of bowler Deepak Chahar.
His counter attack did not last long, though. And he did burn a review for his team when he was given lbw to a Chahar slower ball.
His shot had been injudicious, hitting across the line of a slower ball. It might have betrayed a mindset muddled by the burden of leading.
At least he was straight back out to watch from the dugout with his teammates rather than sulk in the dressing room.
Which meant he was back in time for a good view of the headline moment from the game.
That being Dhoni’s diving catch to dismiss Vijay Shankar, which brought the house down.
It felt like the end of Gujarat’s challenge, and came off the part-time medium pace of Daryl Mitchell.
It was an inspired bowling change. Who was behind it? Gaikwad is the man in charge. But it felt like it had Dhoni’s fingerprints all over it.
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