BCCI punishes KKR captain Nitish Rana, docks ₹12 lakh for IPL Code of Conduct breach vs PBKS

Nitish Rana was the latest captain to be fined for over-rate offence in IPL 2023. The Kolkata Knight Riders captain was docked ₹12 lakh from his match fees after his team maintained a slow-over rate against the Punjab Kings at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. It falls under a breach of the IPL Code of Conduct.

“Kolkata Knight Riders captain Nitish Rana has been fined after his team maintained a slow over-rate during their 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, Rana was fined Rs. 12 lakh,” said IPL in a release.

Rana, however, would be mighty pleased with the way his team performed to beat PBKS in a last-ball thriller and stay alive in the tournament. What’s more, he himself played a crucial role by returning as the top-scorer with 51 off 38 balls.

Walking in to bat at No.3 on Monday, the left-hander hit six fours and a six in his patient knock on a pitch that was not exactly a placid one for batting.

After Rana’s dismissal, Andre Russell and Rinku Singh took centre stage to take KKR over the line. Russell hit a 23-ball 42 while Rinku remained unbeaten 21 off 10 balls. The left-hander hit a boundary when 2 runs were required off the last ball of the match to keep KKR alive in the race to playoffs.

Kolkata rose to fifth on the table and within striking distance of the top four, trailing fourth-placed Rajasthan Royals on net run-rate. Punjab slipped to seventh on run-rate.

Shikhar Dhawan’s 57 off 47 balls powered Punjab to a par total. His nine fours and a six anchored Punjab while wickets fell at regular intervals at the other end.

Mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy picked up 3-26 in four overs to stifle the Punjab middle order. This was after pacer Harshit Rana took 2-32 to make inroads at the top.

Dhawan and Jitesh Sharma put on 53 off 42 balls for the fourth wicket, Punjab’s only impactful partnership. Another four wickets were lost in the space of 29 balls and Punjab was 139/7 in 17.2 overs.

Shahrukh Khan and Harpreet Brar combined for 40 runs off 16 balls to give Punjab a fighting chance.

Jason Roy launched Kolkata’s reply with 38 off2 24 balls, and skipper Nitish Rana took over with 51 off 38. Rana hit six fours and a six.

Russell arrived in the 14th over at 115/3, and he took a little time to settle in with Rinku Singh. Then Russell smashed three sixes in a 20-run Sam Curran over to bring the target down to six runs off the last over.

Russell and Singh added 54 off 26 balls to edge close to the finish line, and the latter completed the job in style.