Coach Stephen Fleming defends MS Dhoni's on field spat against umpires

Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was "fired up" by the way the last-over no-ball was handled and walked on to the field to get some clarity over the whole incident, Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming said.

In a rare instance, Dhoni, who was not even meant to be on the field of play, lost his cool and rushed out of the dug-out to challenge umpire Ulhas Gandhe after he flip-flopped on a no ball during the IPL match against Rajasthan Royal on Thursday night.

"He was certainly fired up the way the decision was handled and why it was overturned. It was a lack of clarity, obviously from him and he wanted to get it clarified at a key moment," Fleming said in the post-match presentation.

"It is unusual, he is generally pretty calculative, so it is something that he will be questioned about I am sure for a long time." The incident happened in the fourth ball of the last over when Ben Stokes bowled a waist high full toss to Mitchell Santner. Initially, it looked as if umpire Ulhas Gandhe was about to signal no-ball only to decide otherwise.

Dhoni, who was dismissed in the previous delivery, lost his bearing at the incident and walked into the field of play and took the umpire head-on. He was seen angrily gesturing at the umpire before leg umpire Chris Gaffaney asked Dhoni to leave. The former India captain, however, escaped a ban and was let off with a 50 per cent fine on his match fee.

"My understanding in discussing it with the captain was that we saw a no-ball called and there was confusion. Our understanding was that the umpire at the bowler's end called a no-ball and then there was confusion around whether there was no-ball or not," Fleming said.

"MS was after some clarity and it didn't seem to be coming, so he took the opportunity to go out and discuss with the umpires. That's how I saw it and that's how I discussed with him afterwards.

"I can't say whether it was right or not. What wasn't right was the confusion around the decision. It is above my pay grade early to go further than that." Rajasthan Royals opener Jos Buttler said it was probably not right for Dhoni to step on to the field.

"I am not sure if that was the right thing to do. Obviously, tensions are running high in the IPL and every run counts and it was probably a big moment in the game, but whether stepping onto the pitch is quite right - I'd say probably not," Buttler said at the post-match conference.

CSK went on to win the match after Santner smashed a six off the last ball to power the team to a four-wicket win. The controversy overshadowed Dhoni's achievement of registering his 100th win as IPL captain. The victory took Chennai to the top of the table with 12 points in seven games.

"Firstly, a 100 wins is great, secondly Dhoni as captain is very successful, Dhoni as a player is outstanding. They are both very closely related," Fleming said. Chennai will next take on Kolkata Knight Riders on April 14. 

-PTI