The Chennai Super Kings have been one of the most successful franchises in the Indian Premier League. The side has won four titles so far and will be aiming to equal Mumbai Indians for the highest number of trophies this year; CSK faced a defeat in the opening game to defending champions Gujarat Titans, but made a strong comeback against Lucknow Super Giants earlier this week. On Saturday, the side faces MI in a blockbuster clash at the Wankhede Stadium and ahead of the game, the side’s former star Subramaniam Badrinath went down the memory lane, recalling one of the most memorable CSK moments in 2010.
The Super Kings were taking on Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) in Dharamsala in their final match of the league phase; CSK needed a win to qualify for the semi-finals and Dhoni played a blinder, scoring an unbeaten 54 off 29 deliveries as the side chased down a 193-run target with five balls to spare.
Following the win, Dhoni had a rare show of emotions as he punched his helmet immediately after smashing the winning hit. Badrinath has now revealed the reason behind the CSK skipper’s passionate celebration after the victory.
“I never saw MS Dhoni reacting like that in the past, nor I’ve seen that from him ever again. 2010 was an important year in his CSK career. Dhoni had missed a few games due to a forearm injury and I think we lost 5 games on the trot. We were in pressure,” Badrinath recalled during his commentary stint on Star Sports.
“Dhoni’s form wasn’t good as well. He wanted to prove CSK were a good team. Everyone was saying, ‘Yeah the team is good, but where are the trophies?’. In that game, Dhoni took his time, I forged a partnership with him but then I got out. In the last two overs, though, Dhoni went into a different zone altogether. In that very moment, we realised Dhoni is going to win the game for us,” Badrinath further said.
