Did Ravichandran Ashwin try to ‘Mankad’ yet another batsman? Twitter targets KXIP skipper
Since the mankad incident against RR, a lot of players have taken digs at Ashwin even in the middle of a game.
Should the term ‘Mankaded’ be replaced with ‘Ashwined’? In the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019, Ravichandran Ashwin has virtually been a target associated with the dismissal which is legally correct but ethically not too accepted. Ever since the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) dismissed Rajasthan Royals’ (RR) Jos Buttler in an unusual way in a game in Jaipur, he has been teased and mocked over the issue. The ‘Mankading’ issue came back to haunt the ace off-spinner in a crucial match against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and the fans were at it again.
Both Punjab and Hyderabad have the same number of points at the moment (10 from 11) although Hyderabad is leading because of a better net run-rate. Ashwin won the toss at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Uppal and elected to field. The Sunrisers were off to a blistering start with David Warner, who was playing his last game of the IPL, producing yet another gem. With Englishman Jonny Bairstow having returned home for World Cup preparations, Indian wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha accompanied Warner in the opening slot and it was him who was involved in the Ashwin episode this time.
Saha, who got his second game of IPL 12, was at the non-striker’s end when the KXIP captain came to bowl. He stopped twice in his run-up before releasing the delivery and the fans at once pounced on to him saying he was intending to ‘Mankad’ Saha. The wicketkeeper-batsman eventually fell for 28 and was caught by keeper Prab Simran Singh off the bowling of the other Ashwin in the side – Murugan – a googly bowler.
Warner and Saha added 78 in just 6.2 overs and Manish Pandey joined the Australian hitter after the wicketkeeper-batsman fell. SRH maintained their top scoring rate and were looking to post a big total to make it challenging for a strong Kings batting line-up.
A number of times in this IPL, batsmen standing at the non-striker’s end have been found making funny gesture while ensuring that their bats remained behind the line every time a bowler approached, thanks to Ashwin’s action that left the cricketing world deeply divided.
Here are some reactions on Twitter to Ashwin’s suspicious act while bowling against the SRH:
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