Ravichandran Ashwin hit the headlines early on in the Indian Premier League this season after he inflicted a ‘mankad’ dismissal on Rajasthan Royals’ Jos Buttler and changed the complexion of the match. Since then a lot has been said about the rule and whether what Ashwin did was in accordance with the spirit of the game.
In Wednesday’s blockbuster clash between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings, left arm spinner Krunal Pandya stopped short of delivering the fifth ball of the 14th over to CSK’s Kedar Jadhav despite going though his full action.
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CSK captain MS Dhoni was at the non-striker’s end and as the replay suggests, he was trying get a start but his bat stayed firmly inside the crease. Pandya didn’t have any conversation with Dhoni and there was no formal warning give by the bowler to the non-striker. But from the replays it seems like Pandya was mindful of the fact that Dhoni was looking to move out of the crease.
While there has been no confirmation from anyone of this, it did seem that Dhoni was aware of what Pandya was trying to do and used his reflexes to ensure there was harm caused. Sanjay Manjrekar, who was in the commentary box at that moment said, “Right instincts for Dhoni. The bat was inside, the ball was in the scene. He does most things right. Just out of instincts, with Dhoni very rarely will you see him do something that is incorrect.”
{{/usCountry}}While there has been no confirmation from anyone of this, it did seem that Dhoni was aware of what Pandya was trying to do and used his reflexes to ensure there was harm caused. Sanjay Manjrekar, who was in the commentary box at that moment said, “Right instincts for Dhoni. The bat was inside, the ball was in the scene. He does most things right. Just out of instincts, with Dhoni very rarely will you see him do something that is incorrect.”
{{/usCountry}}Mumbai Indians eventually won the match to win their 100th IPL match and also ensured CSK’s winning streak in the tournament came to an end.