IPL 2021: Dinesh Karthik found guilty of breaching IPL code of conduct

Kolkata Knight Riders wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik has been reprimanded for breaching the Indian Premier League (IPL) code of conduct on Wednesday (October 13). The 36-year-old’s actions were not found appropriate by the officials against Delhi Capitals (DC) in the Qualifier two game. Although KKR won the match in Sharjah by three wickets due to Venkatesh Iyer and Rahul Tripathi’s brilliance, Karthik hogged the limelight for the negative reasons.

During the run-chase of 136, KKR stuttered a bit and were placed at 125/3 in the 17th over. Although the target was still in the grasp, Karthik’s wicket created tension in the KKR dugout. Capitals pacer Kagiso Rabada dismissed the wicketkeeper batter for a duck. Frustrated by the dismissal, he was seen dislodging the stumps, which the match officials found wrong.

“Karthik admitted to the Level 1 offence 2.2 of the IPL’s Code of Conduct and accepted the sanction. For Level 1 breaches of the Code of Conduct, the Match Referee’s decision is final and binding,” the official statement read.

Venkatesh Iyer and Rahul Tripathi take KKR into the finals

Speaking about Qualifier two, KKR’s Rahul Tripathi held his nerve against experienced off-spinner Ravi Ashwin and dispatched the penultimate ball outside the ground for a maximum to take his team home with three wickets and one ball remaining. That the match stretched this far was a batting collapse, which the KKR team and fans didn’t anticipate.

Chasing 136, in-form opening batter Venkatesh Iyer and Shubman Gill got KKR to a blistering start. The duo added 96 runs before the latter departed for a well-made 46. His wicket gave DC an opening and from there on, they picked six more wickets. Nitish Rana, Karthik, Eoin Morgan, Shakib Al Hasan, and Sunil Narine departed for 12, 0, 0, 0, and 0.

Tripathi was watching all the action unfold and was bemused, to say the least. Needing seven runs of the last over Ashwin snapped Shakib off the third ball and Narine off the fourth. But Tripathi was smart to cross over. The off-spinner, who was keeping things tight till then delivered a wide ball, which Tripathi smashed to long-off for six to take KKR to the finals. The team will now face CSK in the summit clash on Friday (October 15) at the Dubai International Stadium.