Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik has revealed the exact reason that led to the altercation between his captain Eoin Morgan and Delhi Capitals‘ (DC) off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin during the 41st game of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021.
Ashwin and Morgan were involved in a heated exchange after the Tamil Nadu star was dismissed by pacer Tim Southee. It all happened on the first ball of the 20th over of DC innings when Ashwin was caught at deep square leg while trying to pull a slower delivery bowled by Southee.
Before Ashwin could walk back to the dugout, he got involved in two heated exchanges – first with Southee and then KKR skipper Morgan – which was ended by Karthik.
After the match, Karthik revealed that the reason behind the argument was an extra run taken by Rishabh Pant and Ashwin during the 19th over. Notably, DC skipper and Ashwin had picked a second run off the last ball of the penultimate over when a throw at the non-striker’s end made contact with Pant before rolling away, leading to the batting pair taking an extra run.
It seemed to have irked the KKR unit as some consider it was against the guidelines of ‘Fair Play’ to take a run when the ball thrown by the fielder ricochets off the batter.
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Karthik spoke about the same and said Morgan was not happy with what happened in the 19th over.
“I know that Rahul Tripathi threw the ball, and it hit Rishabh Pant, and then it ricocheted of that, and Ashwin started to run. I do not think Morgan appreciates that, he is someone when the ball hits the batter, he expects them not to run because of the spirit of cricket,” said Karthik during a virtual post-match presser.
“It is a very grey area, a very interesting topic. I have my own opinion on it, but I can just say I am happy to play peacemaker, and the thing has come to a good standstill right now,” he added.
In the match, KKR successfully chased down the target of 128 set by DC with three wickets in hand.
