‘First and final warning for 2020’ – Ravi Ashwin after refraining from ‘Mankading’ act against Aaron Finch

Ravi Ashwin is someone, who, apart from his bowling prowess, is also known for running the non-striker out in his delivery stride, also known as ‘Mankading’. He resorted to the same during an international match back in 2012, though the appeal was withdrawn by the senior members of the Men in Blue. However, the tweaker sparked a controversy back in March 2019.

He ran out Jos Buttler and conjured criticism from the experts and netizens. Buttler, himself, was furious. Back then, Ashwin played for the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), who traded him ahead of the auction for the 2020 edition. After he joined the Delhi Capitals (DC), head coach Ricky Ponting said that no member would be allowed to effect the controversial dismissal.

Ravi Ashwin lets Finch off the hook

On Monday, October 5, Ashwin had another chance to ‘Mankad’ a batsman, this time against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. The batsman at the other end was Australia’s Aaron Finch, who went out of his crease even before Ashwin delivered the ball. The bowler spotted it and didn’t complete his full run-up.

This time, Ashwin let Finch off with a warning. The cameras, immediately, turned towards Ponting, who seemed a tad worried. In the meantime, Ashwin, playfully, said that it’s his first and final warning for the current year. He also mentioned that he and Finch share a healthy camaraderie.

He took to Twitter and wrote, “Let’s make it clear !! First and final warning for 2020. I am making it official and don’t blame me later on. @RickyPonting #runout #nonstriker @AaronFinch5 and I are good buddies btw. #IPL2020.”

Here’s the tweet:

As far as Finch was concerned, he didn’t have a great day with the bat. The RCB opener got a couple of lifelines after Kagiso Rabada and Shikhar Dhawan dropped him in the first and second over respectively. In between, Finch smashed a cracking four through the extra-cover boundary.

In the fourth over, Finch, in the end, ran out of luck. Axar Patel found his outside-edge and Rishabh Pant took a sharp catch behind. Finch scored 13 off 14 and the Challengers lost the match by 59 runs. Virat Kohli and Co are currently placed third in the points table.