IPL 2020: Did Dhoni's stare make umpire Paul Reiffel revoke his wide decision?
A controversy marred the 19th over of the Hyderabad innings. A bleak doubt of a wide ball popped up in Shardul Thakur's over that went in favor of CSK. Is MS Dhoni to be blamed for it?
First match of the second half of the Indian Premier League between the Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad on Tuesday saw a wide ball controversy.
With Rashid Khan on strike, SRH required 25 runs off 11 balls, and Shardul Thakur bowled a ball outside the tramlines, which umpire Paul Reiffel rightly called a wide.
The very next ball was also similar but Reiffel stopped halfway and refrained from calling it a wide. That revision, it's widely speculated, came after MS Dhoni and Thakur's angry stare. Both said that the batsman had moved.
The decision infuriated SRH skipper David Warner in the dugout.
A clear wide call by the umpire could have just dropped the run rate from at 14.40 runs per over to 12.50.
However, from constant replays, it could be made out that it was a clear wide. Nonetheless, Thakur completed his economical over and conceded only five runs and CSK was slightly closer to the victory.
In the final over, Dwyane Bravo scalped a wicket and conceded only a run, handing CSK the much-needed win