Aakash Chopra raised doubts about MS Dhoni’s choice to reject a single in the last over. This happened in the IPL match between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Punjab Kings (PBKS). Dhoni captained CSK at that time.
MS Dhoni scored 14 runs from 11 balls as CSK made 162/7 after batting first in Chennai on May 1. Sam Curran and his team easily chased the target. They won with 7 wickets and 13 balls remaining. This was PBKS’ fourth victory of the season.
In a video posted on his YouTube account, Aakash Chopra expressed amazement at Daryl Mitchell’s batting posture and Dhoni’s unwillingness to give him the strike in the final over.
“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.”
“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.”
Aakash Chopra
Mitchell batted eighth and faced only one delivery. Dhoni, who was on strike, declined an easy single off the third delivery of the penultimate over, preferring to face the final three balls of the innings.
“They are a locomotive engine that takes time to warm up” – Aakash Chopra on the start of CSK’s innings
Aakash Chopra observed that CSK got off to a typical pedestrian start.
“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.”
Aakash Chopra
The cricketer-turned-commentator hailed the Punjab Kings’ spinners for being both powerful and economical.
“Ruturaj scored 60-odd runs but the innings never got going. There was a time when not even a single boundary was hit off 55 balls. Eight overs of spin were bowled – four wickets were lost and they didn’t concede even a single four. So much so that Rahul Chahar was given the ball in the 19th over. MS Dhoni had come, so he was called to bowl.”
Aakash Chopra
Ruturaj Gaikwad batted well for CSK. He scored 62 runs in 48 balls. Harpreet Brar and Rahul Chahar bowled nicely. Together, they took four wickets. In total eight overs, they gave only 33 runs.