MS Dhoni was dismissed first ball in Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) match against Punjab Kings in the IPL on Sunday. However, it was not his golden duck that surprised experts but the decision to come out to bat at No. 9, and former India off-spinner
Harbhajan Singh
reacted sharply to it.
IPL 2024: Results | Points Table 109864196
Mitchell Santner and Shardul Thakur came in to bat ahead of Dhoni, who has been in vintage hitting form but slotting himself in the lower-middle order, which has given him only a few balls to face.
But on Sunday, it got a bit more dramatic to see the former CSK captain walking in at the fall of eighth wicket.
“MS Dhoni shouldn’t play if he wants to bat at the number nine slot. It is better to include a fast bowler than him in the playing XI. He is the decision-maker and has let down his team by not coming out to bat," said Harbhajan on Star Sports,
"Thakur can never hit shots like Dhoni and I don’t understand why Dhoni made this mistake. Nothing happens without his permission and I am not ready to accept that this decision to demote him was taken by someone else."
Harshal Patel dismissed Dhoni for zero with a yorker.
CSK could post only 167 for 9 on the board. Ravindra Jadeja top-scored for the five-time champions with a 26-ball 43. For Punjab, Patel and Rahul Chahar took three wickets each.
However, CSK bowlers, led by Man-of-the-Match Jadeja's spell of 3 for 20, helped the team defend a below-par total at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala. Simarjeet Singh and Tushar Deshpande took two wickets each.
Punjab ended up scoring only 139 for 9 and lost by 28 runs.
The win pushed CSK up to No. 3 on the points table with 12 points from six wins in 11 matches, ahead of Sunrisers Hyderabad and Lucknow Super Giants (both also with 12 points) on net run rate.
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