MS Dhoni is 40, far from his peak and almost done with cricket entirely. And yet, if one is to get a sense of what he means to his fans, nothing captivates the emotion better than a particular visual that emerged Sunday night after Dhoni hit the winning runs for Chennai Super Kings against Delhi Capitals in Dubai to book the three-time champions a place in the final of IPL 2021.

Shortly after Dhoni pulled Tom Curran for a four, the camera panned to the CSK dugout, which was jumping and hugging in joy. It then moved towards the DC dugout, which sat dejected knowing they had run into a Dhoni special. It even captured Sakshi Dhoni and daughter Ziva who were equally thrilled. But the shot of the evening, was when the camera captured a couple of young CSK fans unable to stop their tears watching their beloved Dhoni pull off a sensational win.

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However, those tears of joy would turn into a moment the young kids would remember for the rest of their lives. Shortly after the visuals, Dhoni signed the match ball and threw it to his two young fans into the stands, making their little dream come true. Oh MSD, when will you stop winning our hearts?

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Dhoni played a cameo of 18 not out off 6 balls to see CSK through to their 9th IPL final in a thrilling win. Needing 24 off 11 balls and later 13 off 6, in Qualifier 1 against DC, Dhoni muscled a six off Avesh Khan and hit three fours off Tom Curran in the final over. The England pacer surprisingly, opted to bowl slower balls to Dhoni, and the veteran batsman, who was not in the best of touches in the tournament, had saved his best for a knock in the all-important tie.