Netizens gutted as 'Thala' MS Dhoni misses out in action during CSK's team bonding session

It was not the kind of start that the Chennai Super Kings were hoping for as they suffered a seven-wicket defeat at the hands of Delhi Capitals in their IPL 2021 season-opener at Wankhede Stadium on Saturday. However, despite having a bad day at the office, the three-time winners decided to enjoy some quality time in each other's presence i.e. the players and the support staff as they try to rediscover their rhythm before their next match.

'Where's Thala?'

It so happened that CSK had recently posted an image of the members of their team enjoying a meal together as one happy family. The Chennai-based franchise had captioned it as 'A family that eats together stays together'. However, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was missing in the frame and once the fans noticed it, they became restless and wondered why 'Thala' was not present for the occasion. Here are some of the reactions.

Dhawan & Shaw's opening partnership leaves CSK bowlers clueless

Coming back to CSK's opening game this season, the former champions had posted a challenging total of 188/7 after being asked to bat first riding on a brilliant 36-ball 54 from comeback man Suresh Raina that was followed by stellar middle-order contributions from Ravindra Jadeja (26*), and, Sam Curran (34*) who added 51 runs for the seventh-wicket stand. 

In reply, the runners-up of the previous edition made easy work of this run chase as openers Shikhar Dhawan (85), and Prithvi Shaw (72) took the Chennai bowlers to the cleaners at regular intervals, and even though Dhawan fell short of a well-deserved century, he had done his job as skipper Pant helped Delhi get past the finish line by seven wickets and eight balls to spare as DC kicked off their IPL 2021 campaign by adding the first two points under their belt.

The 'Dad's Army' will be hoping to register their first win in this edition of the marquee tournament when they return back to the on-field action after almost a week. Chennai's next match is against Punjab Kings on Friday, April 16 at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. 

(Image Courtesy: Twitter @ChennaiIPL)