Gautam Gambhir left disgruntled, gets into argument with fourth umpire after KKR denied single against PBKS

Gautam Gambhir fiercely argues with fourth umpire during KKR vs PBKS

On Friday, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) had a chance to consolidate their second position in the IPL 2024 points table after they reclaimed the spot on Thursday following Sunrisers Hyderabad’s loss to Royal Challengers Bengaluru. It could also put them another step closer to making the playoffs again. But the home team were left befuddled by an unlikely Punjab Kings, who pulled off a heist at the Eden Gardens to script a T20 world record. Inspired by the thundering show from Jonny Bairstow, who notched up his second career IPL ton, PBKS chased down 262 with eight wickets in hand and eight balls to spare.

While KKR mentor Gautam Gambhir more or less helplessly watched the proceedings as Punjab Kings rained sixes on a sultry day in Kolkata, he was a bit more lively during the first innings when Sunil Narine (71 off 32 balls) and Phil Salt (75 off 37 balls) smoked the PBKS bowling attack.

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However, there was one incident that saw Gambhir lose his cool during KKR’s batting innings. It happened after the final ball of the 14th over. Rahul Chahar bowled a shorter delivery outside off as Andre Russell rocked back to cut it through cover, but Ashutosh Sharma made an excellent stop inside the circle. He then quickly threw the ball towards wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma, but the throw went wide as Russell stole a single off the overthrow. But on-field umpire Anil Chaudhary quickly denied the single, explaining that he had already called it over when the ball was stopped by Ashutosh.

While there was no reaction from Russell over KKR not being denied that single, Gambhir was livid as he walked up to the fourth umpire who was standing beside the KKR dugout and was spotted having a fierce argument with him. It went on for quite sometime before Gambhir, still unhappy, walked back.

In hindsight, the single would have made little difference against PBKS, whose batters were in blitzkrieg mode. Besides, Bairstow’s unbeaten 108, pint-sized Prabhsimran Singh smashed a punchy 54 off just 20 balls in the powerplay before Rilee Rossouw played a handy cameo in striking a 16-ball 26. In-form Shashank then blasted eight sixes, only one less than Bairstow’s nine, and two boundaries to help PBKS secure their first win in five games in the ongoing IPL 2024.

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