Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) pacer Harshit Rana has been fined 60% of his match fees for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct during his IPL debut against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the iconic Eden Gardens.
Rana, who picked up three wickets in his four-over spell and conceded only 33 runs, was found guilty of committing two Level 1 offences under Article 2.5 of the IPL’s Code of Conduct. He was fined 10% and 50% of his match fees for the two respective offences.
The 22-year-old admitted to the offences and accepted the Match Referee’s sanction. For Level 1 breaches of the Code of Conduct, the Match Referee’s decision is final and binding.
The incident occurred during the final over of the second inning, when Rana was bowling to SRH’s Heinrich Klaasen. Klaasen hit a six off the first ball of the over, and Rana reacted by giving him a send-off. The Match Referee deemed this action to be a violation of Article 2.5, which prohibits “using language, gestures, or actions that are obscene, offensive, or insulting during a match.”
Rana was also found guilty of breaching Article 2.5 for his celebration after dismissing SRH’s Shahbaz Ahmed. After taking the wicket, Rana ran towards the boundary line and jumped over the advertising hoardings. The Match Referee ruled that this action was “excessive and provocative,” and violated the Code of Conduct.
Despite the fine, Rana’s performance on the field was a bright spot for KKR. The young pacer displayed a stunning performance in the final over of the second inning and helped the Kolkata-based franchise clinch a win.
Recapping the match, put to bat first by SRH, KKR was reduced to 51/4 in 7.3 overs. However, a half-century by Phil Salt (54 in 40 balls, with three fours and three sixes) and an explosive knock by Ramandeep Singh (35 in 17 balls, with a four and four sixes) kept team’s run rate just fine, but still they were struggling at 119/6 in 13.5 overs. An explosive 67-run partnership followed between Andre Rusell (64* in 25 balls, with three fours and seven sixes) and Rinku Singh (23 in 15 balls, with three fours), powering KKR to 208/7 in 20 overs.
In the chase of 209 runs, SRH started off well with a 60-run opening stand between Mayank Agarwal (32 in 21 balls with four boundaries and a six) and Abhishek Sharma (32 in 19 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes). The team lost their way and was soon 145/5 in 16.5 overs. However, Heinrich Klaasen (63 in 29 balls with eight sixes) and Shahbaz Ahmed (16 in five balls, with a four and two sixes) unleashed a barrage of sixes towards the end. 13 runs were needed in final over, but Harshit Rana (3/33) held his nerves, taking two wickets and defending the remaining runs.
