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What a comeback it was for MS Dhoni and Chennai Super Kings as they lifted their fourth IPL title on Friday with a 27-run win over Kolkata Knight Riders in the final at the Dubai International Stadium. Notably, Chennai had become the first team to get eliminated from the Race to the Playoffs last season. But this year they were dominant from the start. Not only did they stay near the top of the table all through the league stage, but then registered wins in Qualifier 1 and the final.
While Dhoni did deliver on his promise of a comeback, there were doubts in the minds of the fans whether Dhoni will continue to be around in Yellow. The "Voice of Indian cricket" Harsha Bhogle did sense the same question creeping in the minds of several hundreds and thousands of fans and asked Dhoni the same at the post-match presentation.
Dhoni, initially, did not give a straightforward answer. He said that the CSK team management needed to decide whether they can build a core group keeping in mind the next 10 years. When Bhogle proceeded to congratulate him on the great legacy he is leaving behind at CSK, MSD chipped in with a cheeky smile as he replied, "Still I haven't left behind."
This small bit of interaction between Bhogle and Dhoni has won over the internet with a clipping of the same spreading faster than a forest fire.
Check out one such clipping here:
Talking about the IPL 2021 final, Kolkata Knight Riders had opted to field first but conceded 192/3 in their quota of 20 overs. While Faf du Plessis was superb for Chennai, crucial cameos from Robin Uthappa and Moeen Ali propelled them to what turned out to be a match-winning score.
While Kolkata Knight Riders also got off to a great start and were going neck and neck for the initial half of the innings, Shardul Thakur's double-wicket 11th over changed the momentum in favour of Chennai. From there on there was no looking as wickets kept tumbling and eventually it was a comfortable Chennai win.
CSK now have four titles, only one less than the most successful team in IPL- the Mumbai Indians who have five titles to their credit.