MSD and his overwhelmed fans

An over-enthusiastic fan broke free from the packed crowd at the Brabourne Stadium, ran on to the field and paid obeisance to Dhoni by touching his feet.

An enthusiastic fan pays his obeisance to M. S. Dhoni by touching his feet during the warm-up match between England and India 'A' at the Brabourne Stadium, in Mumbai.

A packed Brabourne Stadium reverberated with chants of "Dhoni! Dhoni!" as M. S. Dhoni led an Indian side for one last time.

Dhoni bludgeoned his way to an unbeaten 68. He was leading the India A side in the first of two warm-up matches against England.

An over-enthusiastic fan broke free from the packed crowd, ran on to the field and paid obeisance to Dhoni by touching his feet. When the skipper told him not to step on the pitch, he obliged by jumping over it. He was escorted out of the playing area by the police and then taken out of the stadium. On his way out, the overwhelmed fan constantly turned back to watch his hero.

“No further action was taken,” Cricket Club of India sources said.

Since the afternoon, queues were seen at the gates of the CCI and the excitement amongst the crowd was palpable. Initially, the East Stand was filled to capacity, then the crowd thronged the North Stand at the Churchgate station end. As the day progressed, the West stand too was filled to capacity. Notably, for this match there was no entry fee for the spectators.

Dhoni, who sprang a surprise by stepping down as India's skipper in limited-overs cricket, was seen playing football with his teammates at the same venue last evening. He also practised in the nets under lights.

Irrespective of the batsman at the crease, the crowd cheered only for Dhoni.