Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) snatched a dramatic victory from the jaws of defeat against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Match 15 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 at M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Monday.
Power-hitters Nicholas Pooran and Marcus Stoinis returned with outstanding performances as Lucknow managed to chase down a daunting target of 213 runs on the final ball of the match with only one wicket in hand.
Notably, the contest went down to the wire, where Lucknow needed just one run to win off the last ball with their number 11 batter, Avesh Khan, at the crease. As Harshal Patel, who was bowling the final over, ran in to deliver the last delivery, he saw non-striker Ravi Bishnoi take off for a single quite early. Harshal then halted his delivery stride to try and run Bishnoi out, but the LSG tailender survived.
Bishnoi took another chance and sprinted towards the strikers’ end. This time, Harshal did not attempt to run Bishnoi out and continued with his delivery. Meanwhile, Avesh attempted a big swing but missed the ball and took off for a run. RCB’s wicketkeeper, Dinesh Karthik, failed to collect the white leather cleanly, giving enough time for Bishnoi and Avesh to reach home and secure an extraordinary victory for LSG.
Right after the thrilling victory, Avesh took his helmet off and threw it on the ground. It was this very act that attracted a reprimand from the BCCI as the paceman faced action for breaching the code of conduct of the cash-rich league.
“Lucknow Super Giants’ Avesh Khan has been reprimanded for breaching the Code of Conduct. Mr Avesh admitted to level 1 offence 2.2 of IPL’s Code of Conduct and accepted the sanction. For Level 1 breaches of the Code of Conduct, the Match Referee’s decision is final and binding,” read an IPL media release.
Further, RCB skipper Faf du Plessis, who had a memorable outing with the bat, also faced the heat and was fined INR 12 Lakh after his side was found guilty of maintaining a slow over-rate.
“The Royal Challengers Bangalore have been fined for maintaining a slow over-rate during their TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 match 15 against the Lucknow Super Giants at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, on Monday. As it was the team’s first offence of the season under the IPL’s Code of Conduct relating to minimum over-rate offences, captain Faf du Plessis was fined Rs 12 lakhs,” the release added.
