Hardik Pandya Fined for IPL Code of Conduct Breach During MI’s Loss to KKR
MUMBAI — Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya has been fined 10 percent of his match fee and given one demerit point for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct during his team’s match against Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens.
The penalty stemmed from a Level 1 offense under Article 2.2 of the IPL’s Code of Conduct for Players and Team Officials, which covers “abuse of cricket equipment or clothing, ground equipment or fixtures and fittings” during a match.
The incident occurred on the fourth ball of the 10th over of KKR’s chase, when Pandya, while walking back to his run-up, forcefully knocked the bails off the wicket.
“Hardik Pandya admitted to the offence and accepted the sanction imposed by Match Referee – Rajiv Seth,” the IPL said in a statement.
Mumbai Indians, already out of playoff contention, lost the match by four wickets.
Kolkata’s bowlers set up the win by restricting Mumbai to 147/8 on a surface that offered help to both seamers and spinners. Cameron Green and Saurabh Dubey removed two MI batters each in the powerplay before KKR’s spinners tightened control through the middle overs.
KKR then chased down the 148-run target with seven balls remaining. Manish Pandey and Rovman Powell put together a key partnership to guide the hosts through a potentially tricky chase.
After the match, Pandya said Mumbai’s poor start with the bat proved costly.
“I think we lost a lot of wickets in powerplay, but if Tilak and would have stayed longer, and we had stitched a couple of more partnerships and got those 15-20 runs, I think we would have had a decent chance. To be very honest, I don’t mind playing on this sort of wickets where bowlers have something to do.
“IPL is becoming quite batting-dominated. Bowlers are feeling helpless. I think this game kind of gave bowlers something as well from the wicket, which kind of makes them come and bowl some good balls, make batsmen play some good cricket and score runs. So, I kind of enjoyed it,” Pandya said.
The win lifted Kolkata Knight Riders to sixth place in the standings and kept their playoff hopes alive. (Source: IANS)
