MS Dhoni has been docked 50 per cent of his match fees for a Code of Conduct breach after Chennai Super Kings' match against Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur on Thursday.
Dhoni admitted to the Level 2 offence under Article 2.20 of the IPL's Code of Conduct and accepted the sanction. Article 2.20 deals with "conduct that is contrary to the spirit of the game" and "is intended to cover all types of conduct that is contrary to the spirit of the game and which is not specifically and adequately covered by the specific offences set out elsewhere" in the IPL's Code of Conduct.
Article 2.20 also states that "when assessing the seriousness of the offence, the context of the particular situation, and whether it was deliberate, reckless, negligent, avoidable and/or accidental, shall be considered. Further, the person lodging the Report shall determine where on the range of severity the conduct lays (with the range of severity starting at conduct of a minor nature (and hence a Level 1 Offence) up to conduct of an extremely serious nature (and hence a Level 4 Offence))."
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In the last over of Super Kings' chase, Dhoni had walked onto the field of play to remonstrate with the umpires over a contentious no-ball call. Super Kings had begun the over needing 18 to win, and Dhoni was bowled by a Ben Stokes yorker off the third ball. With eight needed off the last three balls and new man Mitchell Santner on strike, Stokes bowled a full toss. Umpire Ulhas Gandhe signaled a no-ball for height, only for his square-leg colleague Bruce Oxenford to overrule him.
That led to heated arguments in the middle, with batsmen Ravindra Jadeja and Santner getting involved. Dhoni also marched onto the field and got involved in an animated discussion with the umpires.
The delivery stood as a legal one, but Super Kings clinched a thrilling win, with Santner hitting a six off the last ball.