Why Wankhede Stadium is lucky for MS Dhoni - Harbhajan Singh explains

MS Dhoni won the ICC World Cup title in 2011 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai and seven years later, clinched the IPL 2018 title at the same venue. Harbhajan Singh was part of both the squads.

cricket Updated: Jun 01, 2018 08:52 IST
MS Dhoni (L) and Harbhajan Singh pose the trophy after Chennai Super Kings won the IPL 2018 title. (Twitter)

The Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai is a special venue for both MS Dhoni and veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh. This was the ground where Dhoni guided the Indian cricket team to ICC World Cup success in 2011 and Singh was an integral part of the squad. Seven years later, the duo was back at the Wankhede for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018 final and the result was no different.

MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by eight wickets in the summit clash to win their third IPL title. This was extra special for CSK as they were coming back to the competition after a two-year suspension. Although Harbhajan Singh was not a part of the playing XI in the final, the victory brought back memories of their ICC World Cup success in 2011.

Singh took to social media to upload an image of himself, along with Dhoni, remembering the time when they won the 2011 ICC World Cup title. “Same ground where we won the World Cup 2011 together and never imagine we would be playing together in ipl for the same team and winning it after 10 years playing against each other’s...Wankhede lucky venue for us?,” he tweeted.

Thanks to the victory, CSK became the second team in IPL history to win the competition three times. The only other team to achieve the feat are Mumbai Indians who lifted the title in 2013, 2015 and 2017. Harbhajan Singh, who was picked up by the Chennai-based franchise in this year’s auctions, had an average season with 7 wickets in 13 matches at a steep economy of 8.48.