During a match at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Saturday, Sunrisers Hyderabad wicketkeeper-batter Heinrich Klaasen was fined 10% of his match fee for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct. He admitted to the Level 1 Offence under Article 2.7, which states the use of public criticism or inappropriate comments. The breach was caused by Klaasen commenting on some umpiring decisions during a mid-innings chat with broadcasters. Meanwhile, Lucknow Super Giants’ Amit Mishra was reprimanded for admitting to a level 1 offence under Article 2.2, which states the abuse of equipment during the match.
Article 2.7 states that players and team officials will breach the code if they publicly criticise match officials or denigrate a player or team against which they have played in relation to incidents which occurred in a match. Mishra admitted to hitting the ball on the field out of frustration after taking out Anmolpreet Singh, who had hit him for a six on the previous ball of Hyderabad’s innings.
For level 1 breaches of the Code of Conduct, the Match Referee’s decision is final and binding. Despite Klaasen and Abdul Samad adding 58 runs for the sixth wicket, Hyderabad’s posting of 182/6 on board wasn’t enough to secure a victory. Prerak Mankad, Nicholas Pooran, and Marcus Stoinis changed gears in a display of unbelievable big-hitting to take Lucknow to a seven-wicket victory with four balls to spare.
On a pitch with some turn for spinners, where Lucknow captain Krunal Pandya took 2/24, Mankad top-scored with an unbeaten 64 off 45 balls to be the anchor of the chase, Pooran was at his blazing best to be 44 not out off 13 balls while Stoinis made up for a slow start to score 40 off 25 balls. Stoinis and Pooran were pivotal in bringing the turning point of the match, smashing 31 runs in the 16th over bowled by Abhishek Sharma. With the win ending their three-game winless streak, Lucknow are now in fourth place in the points table with 13 points, while Hyderabad’s Playoffs hopes are now tricky with eight points.
