As the Chennai Super Kings team bus approached Eden Gardens on Wednesday evening, the all-too-familiar "Dhoni, Dhoni" chant started. Even those with tickets for other blocks assembled near the Cricket Association of Bengal's Club House entrance, paying no heed to the police's request to clear the area.

Then, as Mahendra Singh Dhoni stepped out of the team bus and headed for the CSK dressing room, there was a roar. It is not surprising though that there were many CSK fans at KKR's home venue. Such is the aura of the man. That roar became deafening as Dhoni entered the field a little after half past six, joining his teammates for a round of foot-volley during the pre-game practice.

Already out of the playoffs race, the Super Kings didn't even win the toss. But just as it was Dhoni's turn to speak to the broadcasters, the Eden erupted, as if to celebrate a victory.

In fact, the "Dhoni, Dhoni" chants did not stop even when the Indian national anthem was played, just before the start of play (as per a directive from BCCI), with the sightscreen flashing "Proud of the Indian armed forces."

During the game, when Dhoni reacted quickly to stump Sunil Narine and pouched a faint nick off Angkrish Raghuvanshi's bat off Noor Ahmad's bowling in the eighth over, the decibels went up to such a level that it seemed KKR were the visiting team.

For Dhoni, Eden Gardens is like his "home ground".

"It's like my home ground for the amount of cricket I have played here. Whether it was zonal or club cricket or even a few office league matches (in Kharagpur), overall, I've played a lot of cricket here and nearby (grounds)," he said.

His international appearances aside, the CSK captain also played at the Eden while representing Shyambazar Cricket Club in the 2005 P. Sen Trophy. The Cricket Association of Bengal later handed Dhoni a memento after CSK's two-wicket win over the Knights. But will this be the last time the Eden celebrated Dhoni, the player?