MS Dhoni’s last game as captain of India A was an occasion that will go down in history for a lot of reasons. While the main reason will be the return of Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni to their big-hitting best, there was an incident during the game that will also be remembered for a while.
Watch the height of idol worship during India A-England warm-up match here.
At the end of 46 overs, India had only managed 258/4. While MS Dhoni was still at the crease, batting on 26 and looking at his imperious best, India A were still not in a comfortable position. Dhoni was having a conversation with Hardik Pandya at the end of the over when it all happened.
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Yet, when a fan burst through to the pitch and fell at the feet of India’s most successful captain, Dhoni reached out his hand for him to shake. What happened next was something not even Dhoni could have foreseen. Even as the 35-year-old held out his hand, the fan who had burst onto the pitch just fell at Dhoni’s feet.
Despite being under pressure to finish the innings with a flourish, Dhoni didn’t look flustered and not only spotted the fan who was coming towards him but also had the presence of mind to just shake his hands and make the fans day.
Even after the fan fell at his feet, he shook his hands before security personnel rushed to the scene and took him away. As that was happening and the fan fell over a couple of times, the 35-year-old remained calm and just gestured that it was going to be alright.
Perhaps that was just the boost that Dhoni required as he finished with a flourish. Batting on 26 from 23 balls at the time, Dhoni just unleashed his big-hitting strokes towards the end of the innings as he got to his fifty with a six and eventually finished on 68* from just 40 balls.
He was especially harsh on Chris Woakes, who he smashed for 23 runs in the final over as India A posted 304 in their 50 overs. Earlier in the innings, Ambati Rayudu had scored a century before retiring out and Yuvraj Singh continued his impressive form by scoring a fifty.
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