Mitchell tried to strike Dhoni on the third delivery of the last over in CSK’s innings, but Dhoni refused. In the next three balls, he added seven runs to end on 14 off 11 balls.
Aakash Chopra found it incomprehensible why, in the final over of Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) batting match against Punjab Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Wednesday, May 1, MS Dhoni had refused Daryl Mitchell the strike.
On a normal slowish surface at Chepauk, Chennai were restricted to 162/7 in their 20 overs, as Punjab’s spin duo of Harpreet Brar and Rahul Chahar bowled effectively through the middle overs. The Sam Curran-led side went on to register a comfortable seven-wicket win, with 13 balls to spare as CSK suffered their third defeat in last four games.
Dhoni made the decision to give Mitchell a no-strike on the third ball of the last over in the first innings. He scored seven more runs in the next three balls, bringing his total to 14 from 11 balls. He was exhausted after the last delivery. Chopra was not in agreement with Dhoni’s decision to refuse the single. The cricketer-turned-commentator was also surprised to see Mitchell batting at No. 8, despite scoring a glorious half-century from the No. 3 position in the last game against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
“Daryl Mitchell wasn’t sent. It was totally beyond my understanding what Chennai were trying to do. They called Sameer Rizvi in the form of an impact player but didn’t get Daryl Mitchell to bat. He scored a half-century in the last match. They didn’t get him to bowl also. Extremely strange,” Chopra said in a video posted on his official YouTube channel.
“In the end, Dhoni even refused to take a single. It’s fine but Daryl Mitchell is Daryl Mitchell. You were not batting with Mustafizur, no disrespect, but he refused. He hit a six but the runs were never going to be enough, and that’s exactly how it panned out,” the former India opener added.
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The 46-year-old noticed that CSK often start their innings slowly before advancing. Chopra praised the discipline of the Punjab bowlers, particularly in the middle overs when they impeded the run flow.
“You lost the toss here and were invited to bat first. They start slowly. The Chennai Express always starts slowly. They are a locomotive engine that takes time to warm up. They made 50-odd runs in the powerplay. Ajinkya Rahane got out after the powerplay,” he remarked.
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“Ruturaj scored 60-odd runs but the innings never got going. There was a period of time when not even one boundary was struck off fifty-five balls. They bowled eight overs of spin, lost four wickets, and didn’t give up a single four. To the extent that in the nineteenth over, Rahul Chahar was handed the ball. He was invited to bowl because MS Dhoni had arrived,” Chopra clarified.
