Gautam Gambhir Disgruntled, Engages in Argument with Fourth Umpire After KKR Denied Single Against PBKS

Gautam Gambhir Disgruntled, Engages in Argument with Fourth Umpire After KKR Denied Single Against PBKS

On Friday, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) had the opportunity to solidify their second place in the IPL 2024 points table after reclaiming it on Thursday following Sunrisers Hyderabad’s defeat to Royal Challengers Bengaluru. It may also move them one step closer to entering the playoffs again. But the host squad was perplexed by the improbable Punjab Kings, who staged a robbery at Eden Gardens to set a T20 world record. Jonny Bairstow’s thunderous performance inspired PBKS to chase down 262 with eight wickets in hand and eight balls to spare. While KKR coach Gautam Gambhir stared on helplessly as the Punjab Kings sprayed sixes on a hot day in Kolkata, he was a little more animated during the first innings, when Sunil Narine (71 off 32 balls) and Phil Salt (75 off 37 balls) destroyed the PBKS bowling attack.

However, one event caused Gambhir to lose his calm during KKR’s batting stint. It occurred following the final ball of the 14th over. Rahul Chahar delivered a shorter pitch outside off as Andre Russell rocked back to cut it through cover, but Ashutosh Sharma made a superb catch inside the circle. He then immediately threw the ball toward wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma, but the throw went wide, allowing Russell to steal a single off the miscue. However, on-field umpire Anil Chaudhary swiftly disallowed the single, claiming that he had already ruled it over when Ashutosh halted the ball.

While Russell had no reaction to KKR not being disallowed the single, Gambhir was furious as he approached the fourth umpire, who was standing beside the KKR dugout, and was seen having a heated conversation with him. It went on for quite sometime before Gambhir, still upset, walked back.

Also Read: KKR vs PBKS Live Score IPL 2024: Punjab Kings Makes History with Highest Successful Chase in T20 Cricket

In retrospect, the single would have had little impact against PBKS, whose hitters were in blitzkrieg mode. In addition to Bairstow’s unbroken 108, pint-sized Prabhsimran Singh hit a brisk 54 off only 20 balls in the powerplay, before Rilee Rossouw made a useful cameo with a 16-ball 26. Shashank then hammered eight sixes, one fewer than Bairstow’s nine, and two boundaries to enable PBKS to achieve their first win in five games in the current IPL 2024.