Picture Credit: BCCI/IPL
While fans remain at the central a sport, sometimes these fans can be the cause of concern for the other stakeholders involved in the conduct of the sporting experience. Currently, one of the world's biggest T20 leagues is happening in India and every evening the action of the cricketing stars is under the scrutiny of not only experts and pundits but even the fans.
Moreover, with the advent of social media, it has become easier for rival fan bases to attack each other online and on a few occasions, it even crosses the line. A similar incident has occurred after the IPL 2022 match between Chennai Super Kings and Punjab Kings on Sunday.
It was the defending champions Chennai who faced their third straight defeat in IPL 2022 in a comprehensive manner by 54 runs. In hindsight, it might look like Punjab Kings were always going to win the contest after they had posted 180/8 and scalped 4 CSK wickets inside the powerplay, the truth remains that as long as MS Dhoni was there in the middle, there was hope given the man's reputation as a finisher.
The ex-CSK captain had seemingly just started to go after the bowling when he edged one down the leg side to the stumper off Rahul Chahar. However, the on-field umpire had not raised his finger and it was the Punjab Kings wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma who convinced the captain to go for the review after which the decision had to be reversed and Dhoni had to depart.
Following the game, Dhoni fans took to Instagram and started abusing Sharma. A few snapshots have also gone viral.
Meanwhile, a poor start to IPL 2022 season means four-time champions CSK are at the ninth position of the ten-team table. However, the Men in Yellow are known for the way they come back and it would be interesting to see how they respond in their next match against SunRisers Hyderabad on April 9.