IPL: 4 biggest blunders by MS Dhoni in IPL

India, over the course of their rich cricketing history, have produced numerous world-class captains, none finer than MS Dhoni.

Dhoni is the most successful Indian captain, having led the side to all three major ICC titles as well as CSK to two IPL triumphs.

However, despite all his prowess as a leader, Dhoni has also committed several mistakes on the cricketing field, many of which have led to defeats for his sides.

On that note, here are Dhoni's four biggest blunders in the IPL:

#1 Batting below Hussey and Jadeja vs Kings XI Punjab, IPL 7

Arguably one of Dhoni's biggest blunders came in the second qualifier of IPL 7 where CSK were up against Kings XI Punjab. After winning the toss and opting to field first (a blunder in itself), Dhoni's defensive field settings allowed a rampaging Virender Sehwag to lead KXIP to a mammoth 226/6 in their 20 overs.

In reply, CSK got off to a blazing start after the loss of their first wicket, with Suresh Raina striking a blistering half-century. At one point with the side at 67/2, the equation was reduced to just 10 runs needed an over. However, Dhoni opted to first send Brendon McCullum and then Ravindra Jadeja and David Hussey ahead of him which sealed CSK's fate. The trio managed 39 runs off 40 deliveries, leaving Dhoni with too much to do at the end.

CSK ended up losing the match by 24 runs, exiting the IPL in the process. Dhoni was unhappy with the performance of his middle order but he was to be blamed equally.

“While Dhoni has all the reason to be upset with his middle-order, nothing stopped him from moving up. Had Dhoni come up the order, he could have easily built on the momentum set by Raina,” said Aakash Chopra after the game.

#2 Giving Pawan Negi the 19th over vs Mumbai Indians, IPL 2015

Pawan Negi

Yet another instance of Dhoni's tactical errors costing his side came when CSK took on Mumbai at home in IPL 2015.

Having opted to bat first, Chennai managed just 158/5 from their quota of overs, a below-par total. However, they got back in the game and looked poised for victory when Mumbai needed as many as 30 runs off the final 2 overs. Despite Ashish Nehra and Mohit Sharma both having overs up their sleeve, Dhoni decided to hand the ball to Pawan Negi, a massive blunder indeed.

Hardik Pandya took to the spinner, striking him for three sixes in the over - Rayudu also hit one - and single-handedly winning the game for MI in the process. Dhoni, after the match, conceded that his decision to hand the ball to Negi cost his side the match.

#3 Sending Ashwin at 4 vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, IPL 9

Another bad decision by Dhoni

The 2016 edition of the IPL was one to forget for Dhoni, who was in charge of the Rising Pune Supergiant for a change. His side ended up second from bottom and his performances - with the bat and as a captain - were abysmal, to say the least.

Dhoni's horrific stint at the helm could be summarised by one decision: sending Ravichandran Ashwin to bat at 4 in a game against SRH.

Chasing a paltry 138 for victory, Pune got off to a horrid start, crumbling at 19/2 when Dhoni made a bizarre decision to promote Ashwin up to No. 4, leaving the likes of Thisara Perera and himself in the dugout. The decision backfired as expected as Ashwin managed just 29 off 25 balls. Bailey too struggled to get going and Pune incredibly fell short of the target by 4 runs.

#4 Batting Du Plessis at 7 vs Mumbai Indians, 2015 IPL final

Dwayne Smith

Another crunch game, the 2015 IPL final between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings was decided within the first six overs of the run chase. Tasked with chasing a whopping target of 203, CSK had the firepower in their batting department to pull off a heist, however they completely mucked around with the batting order which eventually resulted in them falling 41 runs short.

Dwayne Smith opened the innings and batted for 48 balls, adding just 57 to the team total. While Dhoni decided to walk out at 4 this time around, the really baffling decision came when he opted to send out first Dwayne Bravo and then Pawan Negi ahead of Faf du Plessis. du Plessis is a world-class batsman and has the ability to switch gears and ideally should have opened the innings at the expense of either Hussey or Smith, but his arrival at No. 7 meant that he was left with too much to do at the end.