IPL 2022: [Watch] Crowd goes berserk as MS Dhoni walks out to bat

He might not be the Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) captain anymore, but MS Dhoni drew the usual cheers and adulation from the Wankhade Stadium crowd in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 opener against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Saturday.

In a video shared by the IPL on its social media, the crowd can be seen going bonkers as the legend walks down the pavilion to meet his successor Ravindra Jadeja at the crease. Shouts of his name and whistles were clearly heard, with fans wearing CSK colors and holding his posters interspersed all around.

You can watch the video here:

While he's adored pan-India, Dhoni shares a special relationship with the Wankhade Stadium. It's the same ground where he played the player-of-the-match knock and hit that iconic six to win India the 2011 ODI World Cup.

---

MS Dhoni-Wankhade love story continues as he hits brilliant fifty

The crowd at the Wankhande Stadium wasn't disappointed at all as Dhoni showed vintage flavor with a brilliant unbeaten half-century.

His 50 came off 38 balls to lift CSK to 131-5 from a precarious position of 61-5. He struggled a bit early on against the spinners but took on KKR's pacers Shivam Dube and Andre Russell, hitting seven fours and a six in total.

The 40-year-old became the oldest Indian player to score an IPL fifty, beating Sachin Tendulkar's record. The batting legend had scored an unbeaten 100 at the age of 37 11 years ago in IPL 2011.

This was also the former CSK captain's first half-century in over two years. He had a poor couple of seasons in 2019 and 2020 following a magnificent IPL 2018. CSK will hope that the middle-order batter builds on it and puts up a consistent run for the rest of the season.

For now, KKR has to chase 132 on a dewy and fast Wankhade outfield.

You can catch the live proceedings here.