The afternoon sun was biting; soon it would be brutal. One hour before the scheduled start of practice at 4.30 p.m., the stands at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium were empty. As the time approached, the ground staff rolled the pitch and the sprinklers watered the outfield.
The stumps were erected and 15 minutes before 5 p.m., the gates opened. There were hundreds of fans, lining up despite the sultry heat.
Dhoni led a small group of players, including Ambati Rayudu, M. Vijay, Karn Sharma, Piyush Chawla, Suresh Raina and R. Sai Kishore.
Quite a sight
For the crowd at Chepauk, nothing else can quite match the pleasure of watching Dhoni: the sense of anticipation, so drawn out, and ultimately so rewarding. In between overs, he would roll his shoulders, flex his neck, chat with the fielders.
Every time Dhoni juggled the ball in his hands, the crowd cheered.
Every time he turned around, hundreds of arms waved at him.
The debates about the fading of skills and the timing of retirement were lost amid this din.
The fans had begun to build the noise and it reached a crescendo when Dhoni walked out to bat.
He pulled a short ball away to the fine-leg boundary before clearing the front leg and launching a half-volley over long-on for six. But the biggest roar was reserved for a straight six and a fierce cut shot off Harbhajan’s bowling.
Two-hour stint
Dhoni had over a two-hour stint at the centre practice wicket on Tuesday evening, keeping to the spinners, including Harbhajan, and quicks K.M. Asif and Monu Kumar. Vijay and Rayudu too spent nearly an hour, batting.
