MS Dhoni's stupendous run against Australia came to an end with a golden duck in Nagpur, but the fan following of the former captain remains as solid as ever. There were unprecedented scenes in Nagpur during the second ODI when the Indian team took the field to defend their total of 250.
A young enthusiastic fan donning the jersey with the name 'Thala' ran on to the field to embrace the former skipper. Dhoni, who was well just being Dhoni, tried to evade his grasp by sprinting all over the place in order to skirt the 'pitch invader'. However, it as all in good jest as finally the wicket-keeper batsman paused and hugged the fan near the stumps.
Watch the video here:
Rest of celebrities- Guards, save me from him. He might hurt me.
— Abhijeet (@TheGadgetSpy) March 5, 2019
Dhoni- aa ja beta, pakad ke dikha. #Dhoni #CaptainCool pic.twitter.com/m2RWDVPXGj
"Incredible scenes to start the second innings as MS Dhoni is chased around the ground by a pitch invader. All looked in good fun until the trespasser went up to Virat Kohli, who was not amused. Old mate has been escorted off the field," a fan tweeted.
And this is not an isolated gesture, the former captain involved in a similar situation in New Zealand last month when a fan came rushing on to the ground to touch his feet during the T20I series. Dhoni was quick to ensure that the Indian flag, which the fan carried, didn't touch the ground. Dhoni took the flag from the fan while he got his blessings from the wicketkeeper-batsman.
India posted 250 on the board, courtesy a Virat Kohli-epic on a Nagpur surface which was not very good for stroke making. Australia were cruising along in their chase, but Kuldeep Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah kept India in the hunt before Vijay Shankar bowled a brilliant final over to get rid of Marcus Stoinis and Adam Zampa as India scripted their 500th win in ODIs.
"I think it's very important to look ugly at times and earn victories. There might be low totals in WC games as well. We will fight till the end, and tonight was an example of that. This type of pitch was tailor-made for him (Kedar). He was keen to bowl the last over as well. He was chirping and encouraging the bowlers. He gives you 7 quality overs as well. It felt good (40th ODI century), just a number. As long as I keep playing for India, I'm happy," captain Virat Kohli said after the match.
