R Ashwin fight: The ace spinner from Delhi Capitals and his captain were involved in a heated exchange with the opposition’s pacer and captain.
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During the 41st match of the ongoing 14th season of the Indian Premier League between Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals in Sharjah, Delhi Capitals spinner Ravichandran Ashwin’s dismissal led to her a verbal battle which continued even after the their innings got over.
It all happened on the first delivery of the last over when Ashwin stepped out of his crease to hit Kolkata Knight Riders pacer Tim Southee on the leg-side. Having hit the ball straight to Nitish Rana at deep square leg, Ashwin walked back to the pavilion after scoring 9 (8).
However, his walk wasn’t a usual one as it involved him getting involved in a heated exchange with Southee and Knight Riders captain Eoin Morgan. Soon enough, Ashwin’s batting partner and Capitals captain Rishabh Pant also joined the trio as the situation appeared to have heated up a lot.
Kolkata wicket-keeper batter Dinesh Karthik, who plays alongside Ashwin for Tamil Nadu in the Indian domestic circuit, interrupted to send Ashwin back towards the pavilion avoiding any further argument. It was during the innings break that Ashwin, DC head coach Ricky Ponting and assistant coach Mohammed Kaif were seen animatedly discussing the matter with the on-field umpires.
R Ashwin fight with Tim Southee and Eoin Morgan
While the exact reason behind the argument remains unknown, proceedings on the last ball of the previous over seemed to have played a part. Facing Venkatesh Iyer, Pant had hit a yorker towards points for a single. That being said, with the point fielder’s throw ricocheting off Pant’s hands, the batting pair decided to run another run which perhaps irked Morgan and company.
After Morgan won the toss and chose to field, his bowlers did exceptionally well to restrict Capitals to 127/9 in 20 overs. Coming in to bat at No. 4 in the seventh over, Pant top-scored for his team with his 39 (36) comprising of three fours.
With bowling figures of 2-0-10-2, KKR pacer Lockie Ferguson was the pick of their bowlers. Apart from Ferguson, Kolkata all-rounders Sunil Narine and Iyer also picked a couple of wickets each at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
