Ravichandran Ashwin Takes Blame For KXIP No Ball Blunder, Defends Errant Fielder
KXIP captain Ravichandran Ashwin shields debutant Varun Chakravarthy from blame, says no-ball blunder vs KKR was entirely his fault.
Highlights
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Russell was bowled out in the 17th over but umpires called a no ball
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KXIP had less than 4 fielders inside the inner circle
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Ashwin says debutant Varun Chakravarthy was not at fault
In what would become a turning point in the match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab on Wednesday, a tactical blunder by KXIP in the 17th over gave a life to Andre Russell. Mohammed Shami seemed to have bowled out the dangerous Russell in the last ball of the over, directing a yorker to sneak under the big man's bat. However, ecstatic celebrations by KXIP players were halted when the two umpires, after a short conference, adjudged that it was a no ball as there were only three fielders inside the 30-yard circle at the time of the delivery.
According to T20 rules, no more than five fielders can be placed outside the 30-yard circle during non-powerplay overs and at least four fielders must be inside the inner circle.
As it would emerge from replays, debutant Varun Chakravarthy, who was stationed at fine leg, did not come inside the inner circle when the ball was being bowled.
The destructive Russell, on 3 runs at the time of this incident, would go on to blast 48 off 17 balls to take the KKR total to a mammoth 218.
Taking the blame for the tactical blunder entirely on himself, KXIP captain Ashwin said, "I'll take the blame for that myself because I should have had a look at it. At that stage of the game, you expect the fielders to keep turning in when the slog is on, but obviously he (Varun Chakravarthy) is only a debutant and will surely get better with time.
"We weren't really focused on the same things and these small mistakes do cost you big at this format. We definitely will have to look at it and probably be a little more attentive from the next match," Ashwin added.
Shielding his young teammate further, Ashwin said, "The way Varun bowled that 15th over to Nitish Rana and Robin (Uthappa) was a massive positive."
Playing his first IPL match, Chakravarthy had a bit of a horror show against KKR, giving away 25 runs to Sunil Narine in his first over and later coming into a bit of unwanted spotlight owing to his fielding position.
Kings XI Punjab
Ravichandran Ashwin
Andre Russell