 "MS Dhoni denying a single to Daryl Mitchell has led to his criticism by fans. AP")
MS Dhoni’s decision to deny a single to Daryl Mitchell in Wednesday’s IPL 2024 match has led to a furore on social media platforms. In the final over of Chennai Super Kings’ innings against Punjab Kings, Dhoni had an opportunity to take a single or even double after hitting a shot to deep cover but he refused to run while Mitchell completed ’two runs’ all by himself.
Arshdeep Singh bowled the final over for PBKS against CSK with Dhoni at strike.
The first ball was a wide followed by a four for Dhoni with a strong shot to wide of extra-cover. Dhoni then missed out on a low full toss on the second legal delivery. After another wide, Dhoni smacked the third legal delivery to the deep cover but refused to take a run while his batting partner Mitchell ran to the batting end and returned to the non-striker’s end before the throw could be completed. This means had Dhoni run, CSK could have taken two runs there but the former captain did not want to take a risk or give away the strike to Mitchell.
Dhoni missed the next ball as well which was pitched in short by Arshdeep before hitting the bowler for a six over the extra-cover area. He got run out on the last ball trying to complete a double. His innings ended on 14 runs off 11 balls and this was the first time he got out in IPL 2024.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsDespite Dhoni slamming two big shots in the final over, the former India captain was criticised by fans for denying Mitchell a single. The New Zealander is a well-established name in T20 cricket and scored 52 in CSK’s last match against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Also, CSK’s strategy to send Mitchell to bat at No.8 was baffling. The franchise spent Rs 14 crore to acquire the New Zealander but he was sent to bat after Ravindra Jadeja, Sameer Rizvi and Moeen Ali.
Eventually, CSK finished on 162/7 which was chased down by PBKS in 17.5 overs with Jonny Bairstow and Rilee Rossouw making 46 and 43 respectively.