IPL 2024: Watch How Jadeja Teases CSK Fans By Walking Out to Bat Before Dhoni in KKR Clash

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Ravindra Jadeja pulled a prank on Chennai Super Kings fans at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Monday (April 8) when the star all-rounder walked out to bat ahead of Mahendra Singh Dhoni during the IPL 2024 match against Kolkata Knight Riders.

CSK bounced back from two successive losses with a convincing win over in-form KKR by 7 wickets, riding on an unbeaten fifty by skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad after Jadeja had done the damage with the ball in restricting KKR to 137/9.

During the closing stages of the run chase, Jadeja teased the Chepauk fans by walking out to bat at the fall of Shivam Dube's wicket with just 3 needed to win. The all-rounder, however, returned to the dressing room as the crowd anxiously waited for the arrival of Dhoni.

Whenever Dhoni steps out to bat whether in Chennai or anywhere across the country, the noise levels are taken up a notch, and it was the same even on Monday (April 8) despite CSK being one strike away from victory. That's the craze of the man.

"Jaddu's cute tease and Thala's fan-service entry! What an explosive experience. This is what we're here for," a fan posted on X, formerly Twitter.

There is often been criticism over Dhoni's batting position as the legendary wicketkeeper-batter rarely gets a hit out in the middle. The 42-year-old rolled back the years earlier in the season with an unbeaten 37 off 16 balls, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

As he is playing possibly his final IPL, fans are desperate to see him bat and hit those helicopter shots. Against KKR though, Dhoni just got 1 run of 3 balls as he joined Gaikwad to finish the match inside 18 overs.

Earlier, KKR had got off to a decent start till Jadeja was introduced into the attack and striked twice in the same over, removing Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Sunil Narine followed by the dismissal of Venkatesh Iyer in the next over to finish his spell at 3 for 18 in 4 overs.

Jadeja also became the only player in IPL history with a 'treble' - 1000 plus runs, 100 plus wickets and now 100 catches. And following his match-winning performance against KKR, Jadeja believes it's time for fans to grant him a title like Thala Dhoni or Chinna Thala Suresh Raina..

"My title hasn't yet been verified, hopefully they'll give me one," Jadeja joked after CSK's third successive win at home, where he believes visiting teams will always struggle as they get limited time to assess the wickets.

"I always enjoy my bowling on this track. I was hoping the ball grips a little and if you bowl in the right areas it helps you. For visiting teams, it takes time to settle in and plan," he said as KKR were restricted to a paltry 137 for 9.

"You hardly get 2-3 days, for a visiting team to come here, play and identify the surface is little difficult. We know our conditions better."