"No need to do that Rana, it's just a wicket": Gavaskar slams KKR seamer following his send-off celebration
Mar 24, 2024
New Delhi [India], March 24 : India's legendary batter Sunil Gavaskar slammed Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) right-arm seamer Harshit Rana following his send-off celebration which took place on the third ball of the sixth over after taking the wicket of Mayank Aggarwal in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 match on Saturday.
An explosive half-century by Andre Russell helped the KKR edge past Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by 4 runs in their IPL 2024 match. Heinrich Klaasen's 29-ball 63 went in vain, as he took SRH close to victory but could not take them beyond the finish line.
Rana picked up three wickets in his four-over spell and gifted only 33 runs. The KKR bowler displayed a stunning performance in the final over of the second inning and helped the Kolkata-based franchise clinch a win.
The former India opener asserted that there was no need to react like this as it is a just wicket in cricket.
"Couldn't see any of that earlier on when he was hitting you for boundaries. No need to do that Rana. It's just a wicket in cricket. The batter didn't do that to him when he was hitting boundaries. I know we are all in the television age. We need to be seen doing certain things. You can play cricket without doing that," Gavaskar stated in the commentary during the match.
"By all means, celebrate. Celebrate with the team. But, there's no need to do that to an opposition player," the 74-year-old added.
Recapping the match, put to bat first by SRH, KKR was reduced to 51/4 in 7.3 overs. However, a half-century by Phil Salt (54 in 40 balls, with three fours and three sixes) and an explosive knock by Ramandeep Singh (35 in 17 balls, with a four and four sixes) kept the team's run rate just fine, but still they were struggling at 119/6 in 13.5 overs.
An explosive 67-run partnership followed between Andre Rusell (64* in 25 balls, with three fours and seven sixes) and Rinku Singh (23 in 15 balls, with three fours), powering KKR to 208/7 in 20 overs.
In the chase of 209 runs, SRH started off well with a 60-run opening stand between Mayank Agarwal (32 in 21 balls with four boundaries and a six) and Abhishek Sharma (32 in 19 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes). The team lost their way and was soon 145/5 in 16.5 overs.
However, Heinrich Klaasen (63 in 29 balls with eight sixes) and Shahbaz Ahmed (16 in five balls, with a four and two sixes) unreleased a barrage of sixes towards the end. 13 runs were needed in the final over, but Harshit Rana (3/33) held his nerves, taking two wickets and defending the remaining runs.
