Did MS Dhoni deliberately waste time during Qualifier 1 against GT?
As per the Laws, umpires do not allow a bowler to deliver for a stipulated time if he had gone off the field for more an eight minutes.
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MS Dhoni arguing with umpire during CSK vs GT Qualifier 1 (Image via Twitter)
MS Dhoni‘s match-delaying tactic paid off it seems as it allowed pacer Matheesha Pathirana to bowl his second over during Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) match against defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT) in the first Qualifier on Tuesday (May 23) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. CSK won that match by 15 runs but despite their reaching the final for the 10th time, Dhoni’s time-wasting strategy did raise eyebrows.
As per the Laws, umpires do not allow a bowler to deliver for a stipulated time if he had gone off the field for more an eight minutes. He needs to be on the field for a similar duration before being allowed to bowl.
Pathirana left the field but when he returned, Dhoni wanted to use him right after. Although why Pathirana left the field is still not known.
The umpires did not allow him to bowl the 16th over and GT at that time were 102 for six wickets, needing 71 runs for victory. Dhoni saw umpire Anil Chaudhary speaking to Pathirana and as per reports, the match officials informed the CSK skipper that Pathirana had to wait for a few more minutes which Dhoni understood but argued that he had to hand the ball to Pathirana as he had no option.
Did the umpires consider penalizing CSK under unfair-play law?
MS Dhoni was seen arguing with the umpires but the minutes ticked by. The umpires even reminded Dhoni about the financial penalty for the slow over-rate and also the in-match penalty which will see only four fielders outside the 30-year circle if the 20th over doesn’t start by the designated time.
Though Pathirana was allowed to bowl after four minutes, as the argument between Dhoni and the umpires took care of time, CSK were not penalized financially but they did suffer the in-match penalty. The thing which was controversial here was the deliberate time wasting by the fielding team.
As per the unfair-play law, Law 41.9, the umpires have to issue a first and final warning to the fielding captain if the fielding team is found to be wasting time deliberately. This will cause five penalty runs to be awarded to the batting team, and also the bowler will be suspended. However, enforcing the same remains to the power of the umpires.
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Gouri Das
(4695 Articles Published)