Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was fined 10 per cent of his match fee for making "inappropriate public comments" on an umpire's decision during the first qualifier of the Indian Premier League cricket tournament against Mumbai Indians here.
Following his side's 25-run defeat to Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium last night, Dhoni had referred to the dismissal of opener Dwayne Smith as a "horrible decision".
"We lost momentum in the middle, and not to forget Smith got a horrible decision," Dhoni said during the post-match presentation ceremony.
Smith was adjudged LBW after being struck on the pads off a full-toss from Lasith Malinga in the first over. Replays showed that ball would have gone down the leg side by some margin.
Dhoni on Wednesday admitted to the level 1 offence (Article 2.1.7 of the IPL Code of Conduct for Players and Team Officials) and accepted the sanction.
Chennai will meet the winner from eliminator between Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore, in the second qualifier in Ranchi on Friday.