The first T20I match between India and New Zealand took place in front of a capacity crowd at the JSCA Stadium in Ranchi, in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand. While both sets of players in the match took to the ground, none received as loud support or whistle as a man sitting in the hospitality stand of the stadium.
It was former Indian captain MS Dhoni, for whom the Ranchi crowd had reserved the biggest cheer of the night. His fan following left New Zealand allrounder Jimmy Neesham perplexed.
When asked during the post-match show about the crazy fan following of Dhoni, Neesham said it was a ‘great feeling’ as it allowed players like him to slip under the radar.
“It’s a great feeling actually. You sort of feel, you can fly under the radar. No one is really there to watch you bat or bowl,” he said.
“Everyone is there to watch someone else. I always quite enjoyed it to be honest, coming to India knowing that the pressure will be on someone else.”
Dhoni along with his wife Sakshi Dhoni attended the match. Whenever the camera zoomed upon him, the entire stadium went berserk. At one point, the stadium reverberated with chants of ‘Dhoni, Dhoni, Dhoni’ – showcasing the demigod status the former Indian player had acquired.
Sunil Gavaskar, who was on air at the time noted the ‘accreditation card’ Dhoni was wearing and said, he did not need the card for identification in any part of India – much less so in Ranchi.
While Dhoni certainly grabbed the spotlight, the Indian team could not produce a cohesive performance on the pitch.
After clean sweeping the visitors in the ODI series, the men-in-blue were given a reality check when the Black Caps produced a spirited bowling performance to win the game by 21 runs.
India and New Zealand will square off again in the second T20I on Saturday at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.
(With inputs from agencies)
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