"Umpire raised the finger only because of Dhoni!" - Fans in disbelief over poor umpiring during CSK vs MI in IPL 2022

Fans were baffled to see the level of umpiring in the game between CSK and MI. (P.C.:iplt20.com)

After some early jitters, Mumbai Indians (MI) got over the line against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) with five wickets in hand and as many as 31 balls to spare. Tilak Varma and Hrithik Shokeen stitched up a crucial partnership and Tim David then ensured there were no further hiccups in the chase.

Both Varma and Shokeen showed incredible composure at such a young age and ensured the CSK bowlers couldn't make significant inroads into the lower order. However, there was a moment in the sixth over of the chase that could well have turned the game on its head.

Shokeen was given out caught down the leg-side off Simarjeet Singh's bowling. But the youngster reviewed it straight away and got the decision overturned as the ball clipped the thigh pad and not his bat.

Fans on Twitter were furious as they thought had CSK got the opportunity to review Devon Conway's unfortunate dismissal, the result would have been different.

Some also slammed the poor on-field umpiring, especially during that appeal for a catch against Shokeen. The umpire seemed to be calling it wide and then suddenly changed the decision to out by simply looking at the CSK players' appeal. Here are some of the reactions:

Well fought CSK. Thought we will lose one sided. But good to see 5 legal wickets. #IPL

It should have been a match with no DRS for both sides #CSKvsMI

• No DRS because of power issue.

• Umpire was about to give wide and then raised his finger.

• Huge spike on Ultra edge when there was either nothing or very thin edge.

• Rajat took single on 6th, Faf faced first ball of next over and nobody noticed.

STRANGE

#IPL2022

Why isn’t anyone talking about how rules weren’t the same for both the teams? Had Mumbai not had DRS in the powerplay they would have been 34-5 and this would have been an entirely different game. Did I miss something? #MIvCSK #CSKvMI #ipl2022

Hrithik Shokeen was saved because DRS was functional.

Conway - not the same luck.

Conway not get to use DRS but Shokeen does and he escapes. How is this a fair game again?

@FarziCricketer We saw your team mate(on field umpire) raising hand for hrithik shokeen just because its appealed by his captain

@FarziCricketer Fixer Kings 👑
twitter.com/VishaI_18/stat…

Umpire raised the finger only because of dhoni there 😭🤣

Umpire's got no clue. Going by the vibe of the appeal.

There was such a huge gap?
Umpire wasn’t ready to give it out firstly but gave out under pressure?

Btw csk fans fittus ha roneka nahi ab, umpire ke naam pe. This was clear not out.

Lol, umpire was clueless. Gave it out on appeal. This is officially the worst piece of umpiring I have seen.

Omg that Umpire is real joke😂😂

That umpire was giving wide 😭😭😭

Dhoni pressure is unreal. Umpire ki phat chuki thi

#CSKvsMI #IPL2022 https://t.co/MLzPnMpibH

This is purely Dhoni's wicket😂
Umpire while giving wide, saw dhoni appealing and raised one hand and gave out to that extension to that wide🤦🏻‍♂️

Umpiring level can't be more poor now!!! #IPL2022

I swear, the umpire wanted to give wide and then saw Dhoni appealing and gave it out.

If Umpires knew that the power cut problem will be resolved in 10-15 mins
Then why not they requested 3rd umpire to start the match after that.

Shocking decisions in the world's best league.

What happened is unfortunate and should never happen again.

#CSKvMI #IPL2022

Hope they have enough power there and Umpire doesn’t say No DRS ! 😉 #IPL2022 twitter.com/cricsubhayan/s…

Tilak Varma kept CSK bowlers at bay after Mukesh Choudhary's early burst

Although Chennai lost the game and are out of the race to the IPL playoffs, they have probably found a new-ball partner for Deepak Chahar in the form of left-arm pacer Mukesh Choudhary.

Ishan Kishan's breakthrough dismissal by Choudhary proved to be the ideal start for CSK as bowling out MI was their only chance of pulling off a miraculous win. Rohit Sharma attacked the left-arm pacer, but once the MI skipper fell to Simarjeet, Choudhary came into his own at the other end.

The left-armer dismissed Daniel Sams and debutant Tristan Stubbs as MI were reeling at 33/4. It could have easily been 34/5 if Shokeen didn't have DRS available to review the decision. But thankfully for him and MI, the all-rounder survived and brought a sense of calm to the chase alongside Varma.

Apart from that one reverse-sweep to Maheesh Theekshana, Varma curbed his attacking instincts and ensured that he was there till the very end. Shokeen's dismissal brought an end to a crucial and arguably match-winning partnership of 48 runs.

Tim David walked out to bat and dashed all hopes for Chennai to stage a remarkable comeback by smashing Moeen Ali for a couple of sixes. With this win, Mumbai have knocked Chennai out of the tournament and it will be only the second IPL season ever where both these IPL teams won't be a part of the playoffs.

To see the updated IPL standings, click here.