India A pacer Harshit Rana and Bangladesh A batter Soumya Sarkar were involved in a fight in the recently concluded second semi-final of ACC Men’s Emerging Cup 2023 at the R Premdasa Stadium.
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A heated exchange between the two players occurred right after Sarkar’s dismissal on the second delivery of the 26th over. Wanting to nudge a Yuvrajsinh Dodiya delivery on the leg side, all Sarkar did was inside-edge the ball on his front pad before it lobbed off towards Nikin Jose at first slip.
Not the simplest of catches, it required Jose to take a couple of steps towards his left before putting on display a desperate dive to grab the ball. With him claiming a clean catch, the left-handed batter had no option than no walk back to the pavilion after facing a mere three balls as he became the first List A wicket of Dodiya.
A bit reluctant to walk at first due to the suddenness of the event, Sarkar was perhaps asked by an Indian fielder to walk back. Presumably a bit irked due to the same, Sarkar stood his ground only to be involved in a heated exchange with Rana. Readers must note that Sarkar had celebrated aggressive upon the dismissal of India A captain Yash Dhull.
With neither of the two making an attempt of making peace, Dhull was the one who held Rana’s arm to not let him further move towards Sarkar. India A opener Sai Sudharsan, meanwhile, was spotted urging Sarkar to back off and return to the pavilion.
Harshit Rana And Soumya Sarkar Fight Video
India vs Bangladesh – never short of some heat 🔥
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.#EmergingAsiaCup2023 #INDAvBANA pic.twitter.com/xxnMx8Arez— FanCode (@FanCode) July 21, 2023
Having also dismissed Bangladesh A captain Saif Hassan in the previous over, India dismissing Sarkar cheaply was a massive boost for them. With them defending only 212 runs, picking the wicket of a batter with a 149-match experience at the highest level had it in it for the Indian colts to be part of an animated celebration.
Not related to India batter and his Kolkata Knight Riders captain Nitish Rana, Harshit Rana seems to have taken a leaf out of the former’s book. For the uninitiated, Nitish Rana was involved in a verbal battle with Mumbai Indians spinner Hrithik Shokeen during an Indian Premier League 2023 league match at the Wankhede Stadium.
Both Harshit Rana And Soumya Sarkar Fail To Contribute
Rana, who scored 9 (14) after coming in to bat at No. 8, opened the bowling for his team. Having said that, he ended up bowling only a solitary over after leaking as many as 16 runs in what wasn’t the best of starts.
Sarkar, on the other hand, picked a wicket in the two overs that he bowled in the first innings. Being able to score only five runs in a 51-run loss, Sarkar was part of a middle-order collapse which led his team to getting bundled out for 160 in 34.2 overs in spite of a 76-ball 70-run opening partnership.