The nine overs Brabourne filled up for

The nine overs Brabourne filled up for

It was the 41st over of the Indian innings. The Brabourne stadium crowd had taken a break from chanting Mahendra Singh Dhoni's name to recognise and appreciate the efforts of Ambati Rayudu, who was batting on 99. 'Rayudu... Rayudu' they shouted, egging him on to complete a well-constructed century. And when he did, he did them all a favour - retired out to make way for the recently turned ex-India skipper, leading in blue for one last time.

For Dhoni the finisher at his peak, the time was ripe to walk out and blaze away. But with waning powers and uncertainty over his ideal batting position in the One-Day International side, the situation was different. Not so, for the cheering crowd, as they welcomed him like they would've two, three or five years ago. And stuck by till the very end. Much like the old times.

The pressure of anticipation was on. His first run was met with rousing chants, and inside edges - a handful of them - with collective sighs. A short ball in the 44th over came as a release point - Dhoni pulled it behind square for his first four. Noise reverberated, England's field began to spread out and the pressure oscillated. Sam Billings at sweeper cover, let one through his legs. The chants got louder and suddenly, England were under the pump.

If all the chanting from one hour before the start of play wasn't enough to convey the strong emotional connect Mumbai shared with the World Cup-winning captain, an intruder sprinted his way to the middle after the 46th over to demonstrate it further by shaking hands and touching Dhoni's feet - an act considered a mark of utmost respect and reverence in this part of the world.

There were three more fours - all carrying Dhoni's mark of brutality - before the final over from Woakes. All along there were plenty of miscues and ill-timed shots, but he'd warmed up enough for one last flourish.

The first ball, deposited over backward square leg fence, earned Dhoni his 35-ball 50. The next, a slower bouncer, was uppishly cut to the third man fence. Then, perhaps out of spite, came the short and quick delivery on the stumps, which Dhoni top-edged over the keeper's head for another four, before the penultimate delivery on the 23-run over, was sent sailing over deep square leg again.

Tuesday's wasn't entirely a typical Dhoni potboiler but had traces of it. Enough to suggest he can still pull off stunts that he'd managed so frequently in the past. "We might see the old Dhoni now" - prophesied Yuvraj at the innings break after Dhoni's 40-ball 68. "We might see the old Dhoni now," reckoned thousands, who took a day off early in the week, stood patiently in long queues before making their way into the stadium. Safe to say, he didn't disappoint.