Last over drama prevailed at the Wankhede Stadium as Rajasthan Royals took on Delhi Capitals in IPL 2022 encounter. Delhi Capitals were in hot pursuit of a mammoth 223-run target and needed 36 runs off last six balls. West Indies’ Rovman Powell went after the bowler slamming him for three back-to-back sixes, reducing the equation to 18 off 3 balls. It was here that the drama really began as the third ball he hit off Obed McCoy was a full toss. Delhi Capitals was convinced that it was a chest-high no-ball and must be called so which meant not only an extra run but also a free hit. However, umpire thought it was otherwise.
Former South African skipper Graeme Smith has slammed Rishabh Pant for his actions. Smith mentioned that the saga around the no-ball helped Obed McCoy settle his nerves, but the former cricketer was quite disappointed with the way Pant handled the situation. He added that Ricky Ponting was a huge miss in the situation and said that he expected Amre to have come up with a better move. “Scoring 36 in the final over was always going to require something dramatic. I felt for Obed McCoy and probably the drama saved him a little bit of time to calm himself down. But it was disappointing behaviour and lack of leadership around young Rishabh Pant,” Smith was quoted as saying by Cricket.com. “Ricky Ponting wasn’t there and it was just bad decision making. Pravin Amre is an experienced guy and should’ve seen it better. There was also a bit of desperation from the Capitals and the fall-out is going to be big from this for them,” he added. Pant was fined his entire match fee for his conduct while Amre received a one-match ban alongside a 100% fine, the IPL organisers said on Saturday. Delhi all-rounder Shardul Thakur was also fined 50% of his match fee.
