Former New Zealand cricketer Simon Doull has criticised MS Dhoni for his 16-ball 37-run innings against Delhi Capitals over the last weekend. The cricketer-tuned-commentator pointed towards Dhoni's denial of singles in the penultimate over which contributed to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) facing their first loss of the season.

With the game almost out of reach, Dhoni took the onus on himself to hit the big ones and refused to take singles, keeping Ravindra Jadeja as a spectator on the other end.&nbsp;

"I know there was a lot of hoopla about Dhoni's innings but he blocked a lot of balls. He faced a lot of dots and then when he started to not take runs, I could not believe what I was watching. I know he is the great MS Dhoni but it was a poor call. It was a really poor call not to take those runs," said Doull.

The five-time champions were chasing a difficult target of 192 and had been trudging at a lowly run rate of 7.5 when Dhoni arrived at the crease in the 17th over. At that stage, CSK required another 72 runs in 23 balls and Dhoni started off by hitting couple of boundaries in his first three deliveries. However, he refused singles in the 19th over which only yielded five runs.&nbsp;

"You are still trying to win the game and I know it is his first bat in a long time, first bat of the season and he is probably thinking at some stage of maybe getting to find some form but I didn't agree with it. I didn't agree with what happened in that situation. To me, it was a really poor look. I was watching it and thinking you know, it didn't look good for me. That just didn't look quite right to me when he wasn't taking runs," he added.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/cricket/ipl-2024-watch-csk-batter-ms-dhonis-power-hitting-in-death-overs-against-dc-thrills-crowd-706463">WATCH | CSK batter MS Dhoni's power hitting in death overs against DC thrills crowd</a>

<h2>Dhoni should come up&nbsp;</h2>

While the Kiwi criticised Dhoni for his innings, other former players were full of praise of the veteran, with many suggesting that he come up the order to provide impetus to CSK's innings.&nbsp;

Australian pacer Brett Lee was the first one to make the case for Dhoni to be pushed up the order by the CSK management.&nbsp;&nbsp;

"He was on tonight, he was not rusty. I do want more from him in terms of batting. Get yourself up the order. He is outstanding, his brain is still nice and sharp, CSK please get MS Dhoni up the order," the former Aussie fast bowler said.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/ipl-2024-former-indian-australian-players-urge-csk-to-promote-ms-dhoni-up-the-order-after-vizag-blitz-706547">Also read | IPL 2024: Former Indian, Australian players urge CSK to promote MS Dhoni up the order after Vizag blitz</a>

Mohammed Kaif echoed a similar sentiment and said Dhoni did not look like a player who had not played cricket in the last year or so.&nbsp;

"The way he batted today, this No.8 isn't his spot. He should be playing at No.4 or No.5. Come in and playing a few deliveries but Dhoni is batting way too low at No.8. The form that we saw today, that spot is too low and you would like to see him come early and help CSK win matches," said Kaif.&nbsp;

Former New Zealand cricketer Simon Doull has criticised MS Dhoni for his 16-ball 37-run innings against Delhi Capitals over the last weekend. The cricketer-tuned-commentator pointed towards Dhoni's denial of singles in the penultimate over which contributed to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) facing their first loss of the season.

Former New Zealand cricketer Simon Doull has criticised MS Dhoni for his 16-ball 37-run innings against Delhi Capitals over the last weekend. The cricketer-tuned-commentator pointed towards Dhoni's denial of singles in the penultimate over which contributed to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) facing their first loss of the season. With the game almost out of reach, Dhoni took the onus on himself to hit the big ones and refused to take singles, keeping Ravindra Jadeja as a spectator on the other end. "I know there was a lot of hoopla about Dhoni's innings but he blocked a lot of balls. He faced a lot of dots and then when he started to not take runs, I could not believe what I was watching. I know he is the great MS Dhoni but it was a poor call. It was a really poor call not to take those runs," said Doull. The five-time champions were chasing a difficult target of 192 and had been trudging at a lowly run rate of 7.5 when Dhoni arrived at the crease in the 17th over. At that stage, CSK required another 72 runs in 23 balls and Dhoni started off by hitting couple of boundaries in his first three deliveries. However, he refused singles in the 19th over which only yielded five runs. "You are still trying to win the game and I know it is his first bat in a long time, first bat of the season and he is probably thinking at some stage of maybe getting to find some form but I didn't agree with it. I didn't agree with what happened in that situation. To me, it was a really poor look. I was watching it and thinking you know, it didn't look good for me. That just didn't look quite right to me when he wasn't taking runs," he added. WATCH | CSK batter MS Dhoni's power hitting in death overs against DC thrills crowd Dhoni should come up While the Kiwi criticised Dhoni for his innings, other former players were full of praise of the veteran, with many suggesting that he come up the order to provide impetus to CSK's innings. Australian pacer Brett Lee was the first one to make the case for Dhoni to be pushed up the order by the CSK management. "He was on tonight, he was not rusty. I do want more from him in terms of batting. Get yourself up the order. He is outstanding, his brain is still nice and sharp, CSK please get MS Dhoni up the order," the former Aussie fast bowler said. Also read | IPL 2024: Former Indian, Australian players urge CSK to promote MS Dhoni up the order after Vizag blitz Mohammed Kaif echoed a similar sentiment and said Dhoni did not look like a player who had not played cricket in the last year or so. "The way he batted today, this No.8 isn't his spot. He should be playing at No.4 or No.5. Come in and playing a few deliveries but Dhoni is batting way too low at No.8. The form that we saw today, that spot is too low and you would like to see him come early and help CSK win matches," said Kaif.

'Couldn't believe what I was watching': Simon Doull criticises MS Dhoni for his knock against DC

Kolkata turned things around to beat Chennai by 10 runs in Match 21 of <a href="https://www.wionews.com/ipl">IPL 2020</a>, at Abu Dhabi. At one point, Chennai needed 78 in the last 10 overs with 9 wickets in hand, but they managed only 20 off the next 5 overs despite losing only 2 wickets, and eventually finished short.

Discussing the outcome in the My11 Circle Cricbuzz Live, Simon Doull summarised that Chennai “had snatched defeat from the jaws of victory;” Gaurav Kapur called the effort a “botched chase;” and Joy Bhattacharjya described the approach as “un-Chennai-like”.

ALSO READ:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/ipl-2020-rajasthan-royals-steve-smith-latest-skipper-fined-for-slow-over-rate-333127" hreflang="en">IPL 2020: Rajasthan Royals' Smith latest skipper fined for slow over-rate</a>

Kedar Jadhav came out when Chennai needed to score 39 in 21 balls, and was neither able to get the ball away for boundaries nor rotate the strike, taking 12 balls for an unbeaten 7. Bhattacharjya called Jadhav’s outing a “shocker of an innings”, expressing his surprise over Chennai investing INR 78 million in him.

Doull also lauded Kolkata’s approach while fielding: “Their strategy on the field almost seemed to pay off completely. They left [Sunil] Narine, they held him back”. Bhattacharjya questioned the decision to hold Narine back, given his “brilliant track record” against Chennai opener Shane Watson, while lauding Varun Chakravarthy’s courage to toss the ball up to MS Dhoni even in the 17th over. Coming on to bowl as late as in the 12th over, Narine finished with 4-0-31-1. Chakravarthy had 4-0-28-1.

IN PICS |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/ipl-trivia-top-records-of-thala-ms-dhoni-in-the-tournament-328205" hreflang="en">IPL trivia: Top records of 'Thala' MS Dhoni in the tournament</a>

Doull also had high praise for Kolkata’s use of Andre Russell: “Save him for the back end, just one or two overs … when the side’s under pressure, and he has done the job again”. Kapur mentioned Russell’s ability to shock batsmen with 140-kmph bumpers.

Earlier in the day, Kolkata were bowled out for 167, with only Rahul Tripathi (81 in 51 balls) scoring more than 17(Second highest score). Kapur called him the “lynchpin” of the Kolkata effort, the only one for Kolkata “who checked in with the bat”. However, Doull pointed out that they should have got about 185, given their rollicking start. After racing to 70/1 in 8 overs, they got only 97 in the last 12.

Bhattacharjya recommended Kolkata opened with Tripathi instead of Narine. He mentioned that Tripathi might not be as successful against genuinely quick bowlers like Kagiso Rabada or Jasprit Bumrah, but then, as he pointed, the same holds for Narine, Kolkata’s other option at the top.

Kolkata Knight Riders registered a 10-run win and moved to the 3rd position as Chennai Super Kings slipped from a winning position in an IPL match in Abu Dhabi.

Kolkata turned things around to beat Chennai by 10 runs in Match 21 of IPL 2020, at Abu Dhabi. At one point, Chennai needed 78 in the last 10 overs with 9 wickets in hand, but they managed only 20 off the next 5 overs despite losing only 2 wickets, and eventually finished short.

Kolkata turned things around to beat Chennai by 10 runs in Match 21 of IPL 2020, at Abu Dhabi. At one point, Chennai needed 78 in the last 10 overs with 9 wickets in hand, but they managed only 20 off the next 5 overs despite losing only 2 wickets, and eventually finished short. Discussing the outcome in the My11 Circle Cricbuzz Live, Simon Doull summarised that Chennai “had snatched defeat from the jaws of victory;” Gaurav Kapur called the effort a “botched chase;” and Joy Bhattacharjya described the approach as “un-Chennai-like”. ALSO READ: IPL 2020: Rajasthan Royals' Smith latest skipper fined for slow over-rate Kedar Jadhav came out when Chennai needed to score 39 in 21 balls, and was neither able to get the ball away for boundaries nor rotate the strike, taking 12 balls for an unbeaten 7. Bhattacharjya called Jadhav’s outing a “shocker of an innings”, expressing his surprise over Chennai investing INR 78 million in him. Doull also lauded Kolkata’s approach while fielding: “Their strategy on the field almost seemed to pay off completely. They left [Sunil] Narine, they held him back”. Bhattacharjya questioned the decision to hold Narine back, given his “brilliant track record” against Chennai opener Shane Watson, while lauding Varun Chakravarthy’s courage to toss the ball up to MS Dhoni even in the 17th over. Coming on to bowl as late as in the 12th over, Narine finished with 4-0-31-1. Chakravarthy had 4-0-28-1. IN PICS | IPL trivia: Top records of 'Thala' MS Dhoni in the tournament Doull also had high praise for Kolkata’s use of Andre Russell: “Save him for the back end, just one or two overs … when the side’s under pressure, and he has done the job again”. Kapur mentioned Russell’s ability to shock batsmen with 140-kmph bumpers. Earlier in the day, Kolkata were bowled out for 167, with only Rahul Tripathi (81 in 51 balls) scoring more than 17(Second highest score). Kapur called him the “lynchpin” of the Kolkata effort, the only one for Kolkata “who checked in with the bat”. However, Doull pointed out that they should have got about 185, given their rollicking start. After racing to 70/1 in 8 overs, they got only 97 in the last 12. Bhattacharjya recommended Kolkata opened with Tripathi instead of Narine. He mentioned that Tripathi might not be as successful against genuinely quick bowlers like Kagiso Rabada or Jasprit Bumrah, but then, as he pointed, the same holds for Narine, Kolkata’s other option at the top. Kolkata Knight Riders registered a 10-run win and moved to the 3rd position as Chennai Super Kings slipped from a winning position in an IPL match in Abu Dhabi.

IPL 2020: Chennai snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, says Simon Doull

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'Couldn't believe what I was watching': Simon Doull criticises MS Dhoni for his knock against DC

IPL 2020: Chennai snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, says Simon Doull