In this day and age, it is not often that the chant ‘Virat Kohli’ is drowned out by a cheer for another player, but M.S. Dhoni walking onto the Chepauk pitch in yellow is an exception. He brings the house down. Every time. So, it was not surprising on Saturday when the majority of the 26,000-strong crowd showed where their loyalty lay as they gave a rousing reception to Dhoni as he led his team on to the park.
But even before that, the ground was a sea of yellow as fans started lining up at the venue from as early as 3.30 p.m., a good two hours before the gates were to open.
Fan club plans
CSK’s official fan club, the ‘Whistle Podu’ army’s 40-member contingent had even planned an open-top bus parade from Spencers Plaza but had to give it up as they could not get the permission. A.R.R. Sriram, president of the fan club, said, “We planned it only at the last minute so we couldn’t get the approvals on time, but we are happy to be cheering for our team here. We plan to come up with specialised chants from the next game onwards, like they do in football.”
Though some may see all this as over the top, one can forgive the fans in Chennai who have been deprived of seeing their favourite club in person for the last few years — first, through CSK’s suspension (2016-17) and last year, when only one match was possible before crowd trouble during that game ensured that matches were shifted out of the city. Clearly, the fans want to make up for lost time and soak in every minute of watching their favourite players in the den.
