IPL 2023 | Yellow fever grips Kolkata in what might be Dhoni's swansong match at Eden

Indian Premier League 2023: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Chennai Super Kings in Kolkata | Yellow fever grips Eden in what might be Dhoni’s swansong match at Eden

In a never seen atmosphere, yellow fever gripped the Eden Gardens in support of talismanic MS Dhoni, who probably made his last appearance at the iconic venue while leading Chennai Super Kings to an emphatic 49-run win over hosts Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL in Kolkata on April 23.

KKR franchise had planted their purple flags in every seat of the 67,000-capacity stadium before the match began.

But once the spectators packed the stadium before the toss, all purple flags disappeared and it was a sea of yellow in support of Dhoni.

“I have played a lot of cricket over here. I had a job at Kharagpur which was two hours from here. The love comes from there,” Dhoni said at the toss, overwhelmed by the response.

At the commentary, Ravi Shastri also endorsed the view: "It's the sea of yellow in Eden, tribute to one man. He's the King of East, it's MS Dhoni." There was however no official word from CSK that Dhoni was playing his last season for the franchise but the 41-year-old few days back has hinted that he is in the last phase of his career.

And as Ajinkya Rahane and Shivam Dube were going berserk in their 85-run stand, loud chants of "We want Dhoni" reverberated the Eden Gardens.

Some fans even carried playcards where it was written: "Dear Mahi, take my life and play 100 years more." Dhoni finally made a grand entry after the dismissal of Rahane with two balls left in CSK's innings.