"He says 'I wish I didn't do it'" - Robin Uthappa opens up on MS Dhoni's infamous act against Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2019
Former Chennai Super Kings batter Robin Uthappa has said that MS Dhoni regrets hijacking the pitch during the game against Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2019. The former Orange Cap winner said that the keeper-batter was agitated at losing his wicket.
The drama began when the Super Kings required eight off three deliveries. Stokes sent a slower one that resulted in a waist-high full toss. Umpire Ullas Gandhe put up his hand to signal a full toss, but square leg umpire Bruce Oxenford overruled it.
Seeing the umpires change their decision, Dhoni barged onto the field. However, the veteran was unsuccessful, as the umpires did not change their call, and Stokes' delivery was deemed legitimate.
Speaking on Jio Cinema, Uthappa said about having conversation with the former Indian captain about the incident and how the legend wished he didn't do it. The 37-year-old conceded that he had never seen Dhoni like that:
"I spoke to him about that actually. He said to me 'I just got out, and I was really upset. I came out and stood there. I saw the straight umpire putting his hand up for the no-ball'. The straight umpire is the one who controls the game.
"He was like 'once you have called a no-ball, you can't take it back'. In that heat of the moment, he went inside the ground. He regrets it. He says 'I wish I didn't do it'. I was sitting right behind him. I was like, where is he going? I have never seen him like this."
CSK won the game, but the outburst resulted in a 50 percent fine for Dhoni and later converted to a Level 2 offence 2.20 of the IPL's Code of Conduct. He accepted the sanction.
MS Dhoni-led CSK reached final of IPL 2019
Meanwhile, the Super Kings reached their seventh final in IPL history in 2019 but lost to Mumbai Indians by a run.
Batting first, the Mumbai Indians huffed and puffed their way to 149 as Kieron Pollard top-scored with 41. Deepak Chahar was the pick of the bowlers for the Super Kings with figures of 4-1-26-3.
While the Yellow Army started decently, they suffered a middle order collapse. Shane Watson held the innings together but was run out in the final over, with four required off two balls. Lasith Malinga trapped Shardul Thakur lbw in the last delivery to script a dramatic win.