Twitter screenshot | IPL 2020.
Referee Paul Rafiel started to stretch his arms to call a wide when Dhoni along with Shardul Thakur disagreed with the official, stating that the SRH batter (Rashid Khan) had moved.
- News18.com
- Last update: October 14, 2020 7:46 am IST
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Mahendra Singh Dhoni is a man of few emotions. Whether it’s a high-intensity chase or earning various accolades for the country, Dhoni’s nerves in tense situations have made him the legend he is today.
Tuesday night, however, saw a lively side to Dhoni, a moment that didn’t particularly sit well with fans of cricket and Mahi.
The incident occurred during the second inning of the Sunrisers Hyderabad chase when Shardul Thakur of Chennai Super Kings was asked to shoot the penultimate.
Thakur tried to keep the ball as far away as possible from SRH’s Rashid Khan’s bat, who had hit a 4 and a 6 in the previous over. Launching the second installment of the over, Thakur delivered a great yorker that Khan failed despite his best attempts.
Read also: IPL 2020: CSK integral recovers with 20 wins won over SRH
Referee Paul Rafiel began to stretch his arms to call wide when Dhoni along with Thakur showed their disappointment and disagreement with the referee, indicating that the batter had moved on the field.
Rafiel later retracted his decision and the ball was considered a service.
Did Dhoni really “intimidate” the referee into reconsidering the broad decision or was it simply a case of bad arbitration? The cricket fans who saw the incident couldn’t understand it.
There is no point blaming the Indian referees alone if Paul Reiffel, an elite referee, a former world cup winner with 127 international matches changes his mind when he sees that Dhoni is angry. Weak refereeing. #CSKvSRH # IPL2020
– Raunak Kapoor (@RaunakRK) October 13, 2020
Dhoni won the CSK without help from the game here by harassing the referees
– Akki (@CrickPotato) October 13, 2020
What a joke of the game, pathetic! Dhoni continues to intimidate the referees and gets away with it. I just lost count. Bursting into the ground when you want and getting mad at the umpires for making the decisions, if no action yet, the joke is about Indian cricket. Shameful! #CSKvsSRH pic.twitter.com/8MVT09rrFW
– 🕸 (@VIRATs_SPideR) October 13, 2020
While others backed Dhoni at the expense of the referee’s decision.
These Twitter shots are fun to watch. Dhoni just expressed his disappointment, is it Dhoni’s fault that the referee backed down at the last minute? Unreal hatred against Dhoni.
– `(@FourOverthrows) October 13, 2020
The fault lies solely with the referee. If you are intimidated by MS Dhoni, that is your problem. MS Dhoni was entitled to express his disappointment, although it was a wide one. We have seen all the players do it. That is simply a poor referee and the referee should be fined.
– Pradhyoth (@ Pradhyoth1) October 13, 2020
Dhoni, 39, still manages to tease these clowns on Twitter just by breathing. Unreal power.
– `(@FourOverthrows) October 13, 2020
Others were just waiting for drama.
Now we are going to listen all night how the referee was afraid of Dhoni and did not call him wide. CSK winning a game and a controversy, I am willing. pic.twitter.com/KaHAMfVawk
– `(@FourOverthrows) October 13, 2020
It is worth remembering that the referee had the right to modify his decision.
Section 2.12 of the IPL match playing condition says:
“Referee’s decision: An arbitrator may alter any decision as long as such alteration is made promptly. Other than this, the decision of an arbitrator, once made, is final.”
Khan was finally hit on the last ball of it when CSK completed a full performance, outscoring SRH by 20 runs.
Shane Watson and Ambati Rayudu shared an 81-run position to propel the Chennai Super Kings to 167 of six after choosing to hit. Seven bowlers were used by Dhoni who kept the running flow under control when SRH gave up 147 for the loss of eight wickets.
With this victory, CSK de Dhoni won the two crucial points to stay afloat in the tournament and remain in the race for the IPL Play-offs.
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