Former Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Rohit Sharma on the eve of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) trolled Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) fast-bowling all-rounder Harshit Rana. In KKR and SRH's opening clash of the season, Rana dismissed opener Mayank Agarwal and gave him an aggressive send-off by blowing a ‘flying kiss’.
At the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Rohit during a practice session left Agarwal in splits by imitating Rana’s celebration. However, Agarwal did not have the same reaction when Rana did it. The 33-year-old did not utter a word but stared at Rana as he walked back to the dressing room.
Rana’s match-winning performance
Agarwal contributed with a 21-ball 32 cameo in a high-scoring encounter. Rana was exceptional in the final over. He defended 13 runs against a rampant Heinrich Klaasen and Shahbaz Ahmed. He conceded 33 runs from his quota of four overs and picked up three wickets.
While Andre Russell was adjudged ‘Player of the Match’ for his explosive knock and two wickets in two overs, Rana earned praise from him and KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer.
Rana pays the price
However, Rana paid a big price for the aggressive send-off. The 22-year-old was fined 60 per cent of his match fees for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct in KKR's four-run win over SRH at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on March 24.
“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,” the IPL stated.
Another high-scoring affair in store
On the other hand, Rohit’s fiery 43-run knock against Gujarat Titans (GT) went in vain as MI lost their opening encounter by six runs.
The last time SRH and MI went up against each other, the latter won by eight wickets in a high-scoring encounter. Their former all-rounder Cameron Green starred with an unbeaten 47-ball 100 whereas Rohit contributed with a half-century.
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