'You were not batting with Mustafizur Rahman' - Aakash Chopra on MS Dhoni refusing strike to Daryl Mitchell

Aakash Chopra could not understand why MS Dhoni denied Daryl Mitchell the strike in the last over of Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) batting effort against Punjab Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Wednesday, May 1.

On a typical slowish surface at Chepauk, Chennai were restricted to 162/7 in their 20 overs, as Punjab's spin duo of Harpreet Brar and Rahul Chahar bowled superbly through the middle overs. The Sam Curran-led side went on to register a comfortable seven-wicket win, with 13 balls to spare as CSK suffered their third defeat in last four games.

On the third ball of the final over of the first innings, Dhoni decided not to give the strike to Mitchell. In the next three balls, he added seven runs to finish on 14 off 11 balls. He was run out off the final delivery. Chopra was not in agreement with Dhoni's decision to refuse the single. The cricketer-turned-commentator was also surprised to see Mitchell batting at No. 8, despite scoring a glorious half-century from the No. 3 position in the last game against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

"Daryl Mitchell wasn't sent. It was totally beyond my understanding what Chennai were trying to do. They called Sameer Rizvi in the form of an impact player but didn't get Daryl Mitchell to bat. He scored a half-century in the last match. They didn't get him to bowl also. Extremely strange," Chopra said in a video posted on his official YouTube channel.

"In the end, Dhoni even refused to take a single. It's fine but Daryl Mitchell is Daryl Mitchell. You were not batting with Mustafizur, no disrespect, but he refused. He hit a six but the runs were never going to be enough, and that's exactly how it panned out," the former India opener added.

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The Chennai Express always starts slowly: Aakash Chopra

The 46-year-old noted that CSK generally start their innings slowly before accelerating. Chopra lauded the Punjab bowlers for their discipline, especially through the middle overs as they stifled the flow of runs.

"You lost the toss here and were invited to bat first. They start slowly. The Chennai Express always starts slowly. They are a locomotive engine that takes time to warm up. They made 50-odd runs in the powerplay. Ajinkya Rahane got out after the powerplay," he said.

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"Ruturaj scored 60-odd runs but the innings never got going. There was a time when not even a single boundary was hit off 55 balls. Eight overs of spin were bowled - four wickets were lost and they didn't concede even a single four. So much so that Rahul Chahar was given the ball in the 19th over. MS Dhoni had come, so he was called to bowl," Chopra elaborated.