Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) pacer Harshit Rana on Sunday was 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.
IPL released a statement to confirm that the Rana has been fined 60% of his match fees.
“Kolkata Knight Riders bowler Harshit Rana has been fined a total of 60 percent of his match fees for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct during his team’s Tata Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 match against Sunrisers Hyderabad at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on March 23,” IPL stated.
The statement added that the 22-year-old has committed a “two Level 1 offences under Article 2.5 of the IPL’s Code of Conduct”.
“Rana committed two Level 1 offences under Article 2.5 of the IPL’s Code of Conduct. He was fined 10 percent and 50 percent of his match fees for the two respective offences. Rana admitted to the two 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,” it added.
Rana picked up three wickets in his four-over spell and gifted only 33 runs. The KKR bowler 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) unreleased 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.
