Published: Apr 15, 2016, 02:29 PM (IST)
Edited: Apr 15, 2016, 02:29 PM (IST)
The Chennai Super Kings fans would love to see this picture where their heroes who have been divided into two teams in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2016 got together to pose for a picture after their contest in Rajkot on Thursday. The likes of MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Brendon McCullum, Faf du Plessis, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishwar Pandey, Irfan Pathan, Dwayne Smith, Darren Bravo and others have been divided into Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS) and Gujarat Lions (GL) for two years. These new franchises have replaced their suspended CSK and Rajasthan Royals for the seasons 2016 and 2017. Dhoni and Raina are the skippers of Pune and Gujarat respectively and it was for the first time these two fielded against each other in an IPL match on Thursday. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Gujarat Lions (GL) vs Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS), IPL 2016, Match 6 at Rajkot
Raina’s Gujarat eventually won the contest by seven wickets. Batting first, RPS posted 163 in 20 overs and in reply, McCullum’s 31-ball 49 helped GL chase down the target with 12 balls to spare. The pre-match interviews during the toss showed these players do miss playing with each other. Raina, who lost the toss, was heard taking Dhoni’s name a couple of times during the interview. The duo was seen sharing light moments during the toss, as they laughed and chit chatted before it. That definitely was an emotional moment for the CSK fans who have supported that team since the very first season in 2008. READ: IPL 2016: MS Dhoni vs Suresh Raina all set to take centre stage in Gujarat Lions vs Rising Pune Supergiants
A great reunion @Msd @ashwinravi99 @ImRaina @Newbigdog pic.twitter.com/H1x4dYyvEe
— Russell (@russcsk) April 15, 2016
“The crowd here is crazy about MS but they do like our team as well,” he said. The strong bond between Dhoni and Raina is a known fact in Indian cricket and it was probably weird watching these two play against each other for the first time. While the first leg went in Raina’s way, Dhoni surely will want his men to bounce back when they lock horns with GL again on April 29 at Pune.
