Kolkata Knight Riders star Harshit Rana has been handed a stringent penalty for breaching the Code of Conduct in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Saturday. The fine is said to have been imposed on the KKR pacer because of his send-offs to SRH stars Mayank Agarwal and Heinrich Klaasen. The young Knight Riders seamer emerged as the match-winner against the Sunrisers, especially with his final over heroics. But, his conduct left many disappointed, with IPL deducting 60 percent of his match fee.
"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.
"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," a release from IPL read.
Harshit managed to keep SRH at bay while defending 13 runs in the final over as KKR emerged triumphant by 4 runs.
Despite an all-round show from Andre Russell, KKR were almost crushed by a one-man-show by Heinrich Klaasen, before Harshit defended 13 runs in the final over.
Following the match, KKR captain Shreyas Iyer said in the post-match presentation, "Right from the 17th over, had butterflies in my stomach. Felt anything could happen in the last over. They needed 13 runs and we didn't have the most experienced bowler. But I had the belief in him (Harshit), and I told him to back himself and it doesn't matter what happens. He was a bit nervous coming in, and I just looked him in the eye and told him 'this is your moment, buddy.' Told him to back himself and doesn't matter what happens in the game.
Later, talking about performances of Russell and Sunil Narine, with the latter not giving a boundary in his spell, Narine said "They have such experience. Great to see Andre perform with bat and ball, and even Sunny (Narine) was splendid with the ball. Fantastic to have them around."
"Always gives you motivation when you start with a win. This game also gives us a lot of learnings, there is a lot we will take from this ground. I think fielding is an area we need to improve on," concluded Iyer.
With ANI inputs