"He hit gagan chumbhi sixes" - Suresh Raina recalls his first memory of MS Dhoni

Former Indian batter Suresh Raina has enjoyed a great bond of friendship with former legendary captain MS Dhoni. The duo have had some crucial partnerships over the years for India as well as for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and a lot of that was due to the incredible understanding that they have between each other.

Raina recalled how he got to know about Dhoni's destructive ability in 2004 when the latter represented East Zone in a game against Central Zone.

Speaking to Jio Cinema, here's what Suresh Raina had to say about his early memory of MS Dhoni's power-hitting:

"We were hearing a lot about a player with long hair from Jharkhand known for hitting it out of the park consistently. This one day, we all were hanging around while Dhoni bhai quietly was eating his roti and butter chicken in a corner.

"Gyanu bhai saw him and said, ‘I really don’t think he’s going to do us any damage. He’s enjoying his food; let him do that’. From the word go, he hit gagan chumbhi (touching the sky) sixes, and Gyanu bhai had to eat his words."

---

Suresh Raina on MS Dhoni's iconic knock against Kings XI Punjab

Very rarely has one seen MS Dhoni express his emotions on the field. But Suresh Raina remembers such a moment during the 2010 edition of the IPL. CSK had to win their final league game against Kings XI Punjab to qualify for the semifinals and Dhoni's sensational 54* helped them cross the finish line in the final over.

Raina opened up on how aggressively Dhoni celebrated and punched himself. On this, the southpaw stated:

"He clubbed a big one over long-on and then punched his helmet. I have never seen him do this in any match or any situation. Everyone knew him as Captain Cool, but the energy he showed was because of the match situation."

Dhoni will return to the Chepauk as CSK are set to play on their home ground after four long years in IPL 2023.