When Ravichandran Ashwin 'mankaded' Jos Buttler in IPL 2019, the cricket world accused him of being unsporting. Krunal Pandya tried the same on Mayank Agarwal but only warned the player. Now he tried it again, this time on MS Dhoni! Mumbai Indians took on Chennai Super Kings and it happened in the 14th over when Kedar Jadhav was on strike and Dhoni was at the other end. Krunal bowled and stopped just before releasing it, just the way it happened with Mayank. But Captain Cool was ready and didn’t move out of the crease. See how thing panned out: Moral of the story - do not mess with Captain Cool.<doc-sep>You simply don't mess with Dhoni. Despite having played international cricket for over 15 years, Mahendra Singh Dhoni is as alert on the field today as he was when he began his career. Wednesday's 'Mankad' warning is a prime example. Earlier, Mumbai Indians all-rounder Krunal Pandya earned a lot of praise for sparing Kings XI Punjab's Mayank Agarwal from 'Mankading' him when he had an opportunity to, slyly reminding the Punjab captain Ravichandran Ashwin how 'Mankading' is done. The spinner had dismissed Rajasthan Royals' Jos Buttler without giving him a prior warning, causing a huge uproar within the cricket fraternity. Going with the "spirit of the game," Pandya once again stopped in his tracks, to issue the batsman a warning for backing up. The batsman at the non-striker's end? Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The incident happened in the 14th over of the second innings during the Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings clash, when CSK was chasing MI's 170/5 at the Wankhede Stadium. Bowling to Kedar Jadhav, Pandya completed his run-up but never released the ball to inform Dhoni to stay in the crease. But was Dhoni backing up? The replays that ran on the big screen told a different story. Dhoni was in his crease all the time and at no point had he dragged his willow away from the safety. (Image credit: IPL / BCCI) Dhoni's alertness on the field had Sanjay Manjrekar seated in the commentary box tittering. "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," Manjraker said. Mahi fans were left unamused after the incident. A Mankad "attempt" from Krunal to Dhoni?! Man, imagine that. Dhoni was well back in his crease though. He is too smart for that.— Vinayakk (@vinayakkm) April 3, 2019 If #krunal dared to mankad #dhoni he may have faced the wrath of a nation. #MIvCSK— JohnnyBoy (@JohnnyBuoooy) April 3, 2019 Imagine if Krunal got Dhoni with a mankad there, scenes. #MIvCSK #VivoIPL #IPL12— The cricket pavilion (@PavilionPatter) April 3, 2019 Ok there goes that 'if it was Dhoni' for Mankad argument..— Harisankar (@harish_staycalm) April 3, 2019 What's with reports of Krunal trying to mankad Dhoni??? He just stopped in his tracks to see what the batsman was trying. Did it a couple of times last year too. Now are we calling every such delivery a mankad attempt?? #MIvCSK #IPL2019— Rohit Sankar (@imRohit_SN) April 4, 2019 Later, the video was uploaded on the official IPL website. You can watch it here: iplt20.com Back to the match, Chennai Super Kings faced their first defeat in the ongoing IPL season after they succumbed to a 37-run loss to Mumbai Indians on Wednesday at the Wankhede. MI's Suryakumar Yadav smashed a valuable 59 (43) and late fireworks by Hardik Pandya (25 off 8) and Kieron Pollard's 17 in 7 deliveries propelled the home team to a competitive score of 170. CSK's chase was marred by excellent spells from Lasith Malinga and Hardik Pandya, who bagged three wickets each while Jason Behrendorff managed to send two CSK batsmen to the dugout. The Men in Yellow could only manage 133/8 in their designated 20 overs.<doc-sep>The highlight of yesterday’s Indian Premier League match between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings was for sure, Hardik Pandya. It was the famous ‘helicopter shot’ that stole the limelight. Hardik who stood in the crease, used his wrists to flick the ball and pull off the Dhoni-special helicopter shot sending the ball sailing over the mid-wicket region. In the final three deliveries, Hardik scored a 6, 4 and 6. His shot was captured on camera and is now making rounds on social media. The helicopter shot is MS Dhoni's signature shot, and at the end of the video, you can also hear the crowd cheering for Dhoni. The cameraman - probably curious about Dhoni's reaction - panned the camera towards him, but 'captain cool' stood stoically on the field. Hardik's innings left his brother Krunal mighty impressed as he said, "I am very happy for the way he's (Hardik) batting, I'm impressed. I have never seen him bat this well previously, will have to use our variations to defend this score," at the end of Mumbai's innings. Krunal is also playing for Mumbai Indians and he too played a crucial role for Mumbai with his knock of 42 runs in 32 balls with one six. MI won the match and handed CSK its first loss of the IPL 2019.<doc-sep>Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard smashed 45 runs for MI in the final two overs vs CSK (IPL Twitter Photo) Out of the three sixes that Hardik Pandya hit against Chennai Super Kings on Thursday night, one was a helicopter shot that he played right in front of the man who invented the unique shot - MS Dhoni. Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard took the Super Kings bowlers to the cleaners at the Wankhede in the slog overs to take Mumbai Indians to 170 with 45 runs coming off the final two overs. Pandya smashed Dwayne Bravo for two sixes in the final over with the first being a helicopter shot. The ball travelled 91 metres as Pandya replicated MS Dhoni's trademark shot. Hardik Pandya ended up with 25 not out off 8 balls while Kieron Pollard smashed 17 off 7 balls. Their partnership off 45 runs in 12 balls turned out to be a turning point in the game in the end. Hardik opened up on his helicopter shot after the game revealed how he copied it from Dhoni after watching him play the shot so many times over the years. "Very special, I have been working on that shot (helicopter). After playing that shot I was kind of proud, I was expecting MS to come and say 'good shot'. Generally people like to bowl at the stumps against me. It's a shot which is not easy but I have seen MS hitting them so many times. "He is an inspiration and we try to copy a lots of shots which he plays and this is one of the shots which I've copied from him and quite happy that it came out well," Hardik Pandya said. Special to hit helicopter shot with @msdhoni watching: Hardik "Hoped MS would congratulate me after that shot " An overjoyed @hardikpandya7 talks about emulating inspiration MSD's pet stroke against CSK. Interview by @Moulinparikh #MIvCSK @mipaltan https://t.co/jLLWXuZRYe pic.twitter.com/aci6s6cPBF IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 4, 2019 KIERON POLLARD AN MI LEGEND The Mumbai Indians all-rounder also spoke about Kieron Pollard and the special bond that he shares with the West Indian cricketer on and off the field. "He is a special cricketer. He is very dear to us, he's like a brother to me. He's a match-winner no matter if he is batting, bowling or fielding. Whenever you put him in the spot he will deliver. According to me his an MI legend," Hardik Pandya said. Pandya also picked up three crucial wickets, including that of MS Dhoni, as he came up with a special performance in front of the home crowd. Hardik revealed he had been training hard during his time away from the senior national team and all that is helping him strike the ball as cleanly as he is in the ongoing season of IPL. Hardik was sidelined from international action during a back injury he picked up during Asia Cup last year. Shortly after his comeback, Hardik faced a suspension for his controversial comments in a popular television show -- Koffee With Karan. Nonetheless, the Mumbai Indians all-rounder has returned to peak form in IPL 2019 and is expected to play a key role for India at the 2019 World Cup, starting May 30 in England and Wales. "It feels really good to help the team win and to contribute to it. It's been seven months since I played much competitive cricket. Have batted and batted and batted in the nets. Touch wood, it's helping me," Hardik said on Wednesday. He added: "I am someone who loves to have game time and I am hitting them really well at the moment. Yes, the injury happened and then the controversy too. These seven months weren't easy and I wasn't sure of what to do. "This award is special and I dedicate it to all those who stood by me during those tough times. My goal is to keep performing and hopefully, help India win the World Cup."<doc-sep>
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. ALSO READ: RCB vs KKR: Royal Challengers Bangalore Predicted XI - big changes expected 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. Dhoni Receives a Rare 'Mankad' Warning From Krunal Pandya https://t.co/3opSBEy9Gj — FLAME MEDIA (@flamemediaindia) April 4, 2019 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.” 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.