There are few greater honours in Indian cricket than making MS Dhoni smile. And Ayush Mhatre did just that — in his very first IPL match.

With the roar of the Wankhede crowd rising, Chennai Super Kings' 17-year-old rookie walked in, mashed 32 off just 17 balls starting with a sequence of 1, 4, 6, 6 that had even MS Dhoni cracking a rare smile.

The smile, of course, went viral. The internet dubbed it “Thala’s stamp of approval.”

One fan posted, “Thala Dhoni smiling while Ayush Mhatre hitting”. Another added, “MS Dhoni loving the Ayush Mhatre show.” And really, who wasn’t?

Sunil Gavaskar couldn’t resist a cheeky gem from the commentary box: “Ayush Mhatre is under 18, so he's not driving, he's pulling. He can't drive, he's underage.”

It wasn’t just about the shots. The youngest ever to don CSK yellow stepped into a role that even IPL veterans find daunting — taking on Mumbai at the Wankhede.

He eventually holed out to Mitchell Santner at the boundary off Deepak Chahar, but by then, the script was complete.

Born in July 2007, Ayush Mhatre has been tearing through domestic cricket—breaking Yashasvi Jaiswal’s record with a 181 in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, scoring a Ranji double-ton, and earning his IPL call-up as Ruturaj Gaikwad’s replacement.

From sharing dressing rooms with his idol Rohit Sharma to getting a nod from the legend MS Dhoni himself, Mhatre's life just flipped a gear.

And yes, he still needs a guardian to sign his driving licence form. But tonight? He drove CSK fans straight into delirium.