Novak Djokovic, MS Dhoni and the painful April of watching the unbreakable legends break
Novak Djokovic can be advised to follow MS Dhoni's IPL season. If the Serb finds cricket boring, he can just watch his four-ball inning – calling it a painful-to-watch outing would be more apt – against Punjab Kings in CSK's last game.
Dhoni, 43, has looked in shape, sufficiently beefed up. But he couldn't middle many balls. When he did, he failed to clear the ropes, like he did once upon a time. CSK 's fortunes would get impacted. The IPL final is still about a month away but the multiple champions are out of contention. Dhoni failed when his team wanted him to succeed the most. And in his and CSK's failure, is a lesson for Djokovic – Form wasn't on tap, it doesn't flow by just turning the knob.
Few days back, towards the end of last month, Djokovic, 37, had lost to World No.44 Matteo Arnaldi in straight sets. It was a meek surrender. Acknowledging his fall but not sure if it was time to call it quits, Djokovic spoke about a 'new reality'. He confessed how his goal these days was to win a few rounds and not the tournament.
But like all sporting greats, in the business of performing miracles all their lives, he wasn't writing himself off at Grand Slams. 'Obviously Grand Slams are the most important tournaments for me. Which doesn't mean that I don't want to win here, of course I wanted to, but Grand Slams are where I really want to play the best tennis,' he said. That was the catch. Djokovic believed that 'best tennis' was on tap and he was capable of turning the knob four times a year.
An honest assessment from Djokovic after his loss to Arnaldi earlier 🎙️ #MMOpen pic.twitter.com/2TObDyqXtl
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) April 26, 2025
Watching Dhoni might make the tennis legend wiser about his future. Dhoni's April was far worse than Djokovic. Very early this season, the IPL trophy was nowhere near his sight and winning a few games was his team's realistic goal. Personally, playing a winning hand seemed beyond him. These days, he had modest targets – it was about getting a clean connection between bat and ball.
Dhoni had been living the 'new reality' that Djokovic spoke about for the entire 2024 season. 2025 was about him waking up to an 'age-old reality'. A shadow of his old self, he was a walking warning to the pros dragging their feet even after father time had blown the final whistle.
Back in the day, Dhoni always rose to the occasion. Now that was not the case. For CSK and Dhoni, that game against Punjab Kings was crucial. It was now-or-never – win or forget playoffs moment. Chepauk was packed. It was an arena that has witnessed many magical Dhoni knocks. The venue, the fans, the cause – this was the famous Thala hour. It took four-balls to realise, this used to be the Thala hour.
A shadow of his old self, Dhoni was a walking warning to the pros dragging their feet even after father time had blown the final whistle. (BCCI)
CSK were about 170 in the 18th over when Dhoni walked in. They needed to cross 200 to make it a game. The first ball from the tall South African pacer Marco Jansen was short, aimed at his head. Back in the day, Dhoni would have swatted it over square leg. He swung the bat, it caught the top edge and flew for four. Chepauk erupted. The next ball too was short but he couldn't clear the boundary. At least it went where he intended.
Next up was Yuzvendra Chahal. Dhoni knows him inside out. The leggie used to be his pupil, rather a puppet, when he was the India captain. From behind the stumps, he would tutor Chahal all the time. Chahal pitched his first ball on his stumps. Dhoni lofted it for a straight six. How times change. Now, it was Chahal who was reading his master's mind. Aware that Dhoni had got slower and lost touch, Chahal tossed the next ball outside off. Dhoni failed to reach or make a solid connect. He was caught on the fence. The touch had vanished, and so had the halo.
In a season where he has scored 151 in 10 outings, this has happened often. Dhoni is losing his aura, an important weapon that helped during those tight last-over situations. There was a time when Dhoni would leave it for late and pull off impossible wins – that was his way of leaving his signature on a winning game. This IPL too he tried the Houdini but his team sunk. He no longer could unshackle the chains in time.
Djokovic too is a master of tight matches. He has perfected the art of winning tie-breakers – where the situation isn't too different from cricket's final overs. There have been times when Djokovic would be down 0-2 but he would still wear that nonplussed Dhoni expression. Such was his winning percentage in 3rd, 4th and 5th sets, that he, his rivals and the world knew who was the favourite when the game went to the wire.
Il punto con cui Botic van de Zandschulp ha sconfitto Novak Djokovic a Indian Wells! 🇳🇱 pic.twitter.com/M0AYKFkCW7
— Quindici Zero 🎾 (@quindicizero) March 9, 2025
This April, the month when the mighty fell, Djokovic too wasn't his old self. He lost three matches in a row, something he hadn't done for ages on the tour. His last loss was to Dutch lucky loser Botic van de Zandschulp at Indian Wells. The game went to the deciding third set but he couldn't beat the World No. 85. That day he committed 37 unforced errors – if cricket kept that statistical count Dhoni's numbers would be similar. After the game, Djokovic confessed 'it was a struggle'.
It is these struggles that make fans, accustomed to dispensing superlatives from their couches, wince. They feel betrayed by the slowing reflexes of the aging of Supermen. Sport has always been about those obsessed with the singular Peter Pan story. Nobody stops ageing – neither stars, nor fans. But spectators would always want their heroes to be super-fit and super-successful.
Watching Dhoni, Djokovic will get to know that the 'new reality' of downsizing ambitions comes with risks of shrinking your stature, denting your reputation and adding an anti-climatic postscript to your legacy. Form or best tennis aren't on tap, they need to perennially flow. Only when 'giving your best' becomes a habit, it will organically flow into your veins at the opportune time. Dhoni couldn't do that, wait for Paris to find if Djokovic can.
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Time of India
25 minutes ago
- Time of India
'Deaths at 3:50 pm, I got information at 5:45': Siddaramaiah on why RCB felicitation event continued despite stampede; says 'I went as invitee'
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Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Karnataka CM defends holding RCB felicitation at Vidhana Soudha despite police warning
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday defended the decision to go ahead with the RCB victory celebration in front of Vidhana Soudha, saying no untoward incident happened there. The CM's reaction came to the DCP (Vidhana Soudha security) letter written before the event warning against holding felicitations at Vidhana Soudha "hastily", surfaced now. The CM, however, clarified that the event at Vidhana Soudha was organised by the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), and that he attended the programme as he was invited. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like The price of dental implants may surprise you Dental Implants | Search Ads Search Now Undo On June 4, along with a felicitation to the RCB on IPL victory at Vidhana Soudha, a celebration was also organised at the Chinnaswamy cricket stadium, where a large number of people thronged, leading to stampede, in which eleven people died and 56 were injured. A letter by DCP (Vidhana Soudha security) on June 4 to Secretary to the government, Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DPAR), warning against organising the event hastily, and also highlighting that they did not have enough personnel to organise security for such an event, where a large number of people would gather, at short notice, has surfaced. Live Events The letter was in response to DPAR seeking his opinion on holding the felicitation event on the grand stairs of the Vidhana Soudha to honour the RCB players. "The RCB cricket team has a fan following across the country. Organising the event in a hurry on the grand stairs of Vidhana Soudha will lead to lakhs of cricket fans arriving at Vidhana Soudha. This will lead to problems in bandobast since there is a shortage of officers/personnel in Vidhana Soudha security division," the DCP's letter said. As the RCB fan following is huge, police personnel from outside the city will be required for bandobast and it will require time, he further said, both law and order and the traffic police will have to coordinate for a mega event like this and there is not enough time. The officer said if the event is organised, the issual of online or offline passes for visitors to Vidhana Soudha should be completely stopped. Also, as there are chances of the secretariat staff getting their family members for the event, an order should be issued aimed at ensuring that this doesn't happen. It also sought a holiday in the afternoon for secretariat staff to ensure that they too don't come there. The letter also calls for installation of more CCTV cameras in the vicinity of Vidhana Soudha, which is a vital installation and nearby places in view of the large gatherings expected; and highlights the need for an anti-drone system. However, at the end, the DCP's letter says that the Vidhana Soudha comes under the ambit of a heritage building and a vital installation. Keeping security in view, time is required to organise the event without causing any harm to the building and by following the rules Despite this, the government's decision will be abided by. Responding to a question about the letter, Siddaramaiah, speaking to reporters in Mysuru, said, "...at the end, what does the letter say? The police will act according to what the government decides. It did not come to me at all. DAPR secretary has given the permission. Of course I was told. I said give permission to the event in front of Vidhana Soudha." Questioning whether any incident happened during the event in front of Vidhana Soudha in which the Governor too had participated, he said nothing happened there. The stampede incident happened at the stadium later. Asked whether DPAR secretary Sathyavathi will be suspended like five police officers, including the then Commissioner of Police B Dayananda, the CM asked, "What has Sathyavathi done? What happened at Vidhana Soudha?" Noting that the DPAR Secretary asked him for permission in the regular course about holding the event in front of Vidhana Soudha and the Chief Secretary said it can be and the police have agreed, Siddaramaiah said, "The KSCA Secretary and Treasurer met me and invited me. It is not organised by us. They had organised and I was invited. They told me that the Governor would also come. So, I had gone. Other than that, I don't know anything. The government has nothing to do...I was not invited to the stadium event." The DCP in his letter has also mentioned the need to obtain a no-objection certificate from the PWD department regarding the stage, fitness certificate from an engineer regarding electric equipment used, also about anti-sabotage check. Asked whether the stampede incident had brought embarrassment to the government, Siddaramaiah said when the government has done nothing wrong, why embarrassment? Action has been taken against those who are at fault prima facie. "Was resignation given after the Kumbh Mela stampede in which 50-60 people were killed?" Replying to criticism about him going ahead with the felicitation event, in spite of deaths due to stampede, the CM said, "Actually at 3:50 pm death was reported at the hospital. I got to know only at 5:45 pm. Until then, I did not know about the stampede and deaths." Responding to a question on the BJP's protest demanding his resignation and legal action against him, Siddaramaiah said, "What is the Chief Minister's fault? The BJP is doing it politically. They are making false allegations against me. Where is the government wrong?" On the demand to shift the cricket stadium outside Bengaluru, the CM said, "We will consider has to be identified."
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
Bengaluru stampede: Police letter flagged lack of time to prepare for event at Vidhana Soudha
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