Follow UsChennai Super Kings’ first game of the season against Mumbai Indians (MI) witnessed the homecoming of one of their own as Ravichandran Ashwin donned the yellow jersey for the first time in nearly a decade. And it proved to be a successful homecoming for Ashwin, as apart from returning figures of 1/31, CSK also ended up winning the clash.
Yet more than the cricket, it was the electrifying Chennai crowd that left Ashwin absolutely stunned on his return. The veteran spoke about his second ‘debut’ for CSK and compared the experience of playing at Chepauk to watching a Rajinikanth film in the theatre, particularly when MS Dhoni walked out to bat.
“I have watched films like Padayappa, Ghilli and Baasha in the theatre. There will be whistles and the atmosphere is usually absolutely electrifying. I got the same feeling at Chepauk the other day,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
“This is not cricket, this is cinema. ‘Absolute cinema’, like they say.
“I saw a video where Mumbai owner Nita Ambani is sitting on the sidelines and she could be seen covering her ears when Dhoni walks out to bat, because it was so loud.”
He further spoke about how the crowd completely took the pressure off a ‘tense’ game the moment Dhoni walked out to bat. CSK still needed 4 runs off 8 balls when Dhoni walked out to bat, and that soon became 4 off 6 balls. However, the situation of the game did not matter to the crowd, who went ballistic once their ‘hero’ walked out to the middle.
“The match was tense. We needed 4 off the last over. Mitchell Santner was the right match-up and Rachin Ravindra was on strike, the game was very much on. But the crowd turned the event into ‘absolute cinema’. The moment Dhoni walked out, the game pressure went out of the window, and his entry turned into a red-carpet event.”
Ashwin and CSK will play their second match at Chepauk this season against arch-rivals Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on March 28 (Friday).