Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper Nitish Rana has been fined by the BCCI for INR 12 lakh for maintaining slow over-rate during the match against Punjab Kings in the 53rd match of the Indian Premier League (IPL). This is the first time that KKR were slow in completing their overs this season. However, it was a brilliant result for the home team at the Eden Gardens as Rinku Singh and Andre Russell pulled off a heist for them to win the last-ball thriller.
"Kolkata Knight Riders captain Nitish Rana has been fined after his team maintained a slow over-rate during their TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Punjab Kings at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata.As it was his team’s first offence of the season under the IPL’s Code of Conduct relating to minimum over-rate offences, Mr. Rana was fined Rs. 12 lakh," the statement from IPL read.
As for the match, PBKS, after opting to bat first, posted a competitive total of 179 runs for the loss of seven wickets in 20 overs. Skipper Shikhar Dhawan slammed a brilliant half-century scoring 57 runs off 47 balls on a slow pitch. Shahrukh Khan and Harpreet Brar then provided vital finishing touches to take the team's score to 179.
In response, KKR were boosted by solid contributions from Jason Roy (38) and skipper Nitish Rana (51) while Russell finally got going with the bat. He scored 42 runs off 23 balls before getting out in the final over. However, Rinu Singh kept his cool to smash a four when two runs were needed off the final ball to keep his team alive in the competition.
After finishing yet another encounter, Rinku said, "I didn't think about the last ball. Even when I hit those five sixes, I hadn't thought much. I was playing on the merit of the ball. I had the belief in me that I could finish the game. I have got used to it, sometimes I bat at 5, sometimes at 6, 7, I practice that way. There is no particular way I like to celebrate."
