MS Dhoni fans booed Jharkhand batsman Saurabh Tiwary during Vijay Hazare Trophy match

Kolkata, Mar 1: Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Jharkhand may have registered a convincing second victory in Vijay Hazare Trophy on Tuesday (Feb 28) but the thousands of spectators gathered at Kalyani Stadium were visibly disgruntled.

Dhoni-led Jharkhand cruise to win

Eager to watch their favourite cricketer i.e. MS Dhoni bat, fans were left disappointed as the former India captain didn't have to come out and face even a single ball and Jharkhand cruised to a comfortable seven-wicket win over Services.

Chasing a stiff 277, Jharkhand did not require services of their captain 'cool' as middle order batsmen Saurabh Tiwary (102 not out off 103 balls; 3x4, 6x6) and Ishank Jaggi (116 not out off 92 balls; 10x4, 4x6) put together an unbroken 214-run partnership to script a fluent chase with 22 balls to spare.

At 107/3 midway into their innings, the match tilted heavily in favour of Services with required run rate going past six.

It was an ideal situation for the 'finisher' Dhoni as the crowd kept on shouting his name in anticipation but Tiwary and Jaggi did not take a step wrong and complemented each other in their solid left-right combination.

Saurabh Tiwary sledged by crowd:

They kept rotating strikes and got an odd boundary or six in every over providing a calm assurance in the dressing room as the crowd started getting frustrated and even shouted 'Saurabh Tiwary Hai Hai'.

The crowd sledged the left-handed cricketer from denying them a rare opportunity of watching Team India superstar bat and win the game for his side.

Tiwary however took it in a positive spirit and said, "We must understand that they're emotional as Mahi bhai (MS Dhoni) never played here. Being a professional I did not mind. We were subjected to much more sledging on the field."

Thousands gathered to watch Dhoni bat:

Thousands gathered outside the venue unable to enter, while a few hundreds managed to get in with passes, while rooftops of the residential buildings and a school surrounding the stadium wore a packed look since 9 am in a never-before atmosphere.

But the only action they could have of Dhoni was his two run-outs and a caught-behind dismissal on a flat deck of Bengal Cricket Academy in the small industrial township of Kalyani about 50 kilometres from Kolkata.

Dhoni is known for his cool and calm attitude and such instances hardly bog the seasoned campaigner down.

OneIndia News

(With inputs from agencies)