Harbhajan and Yusuf Pathan fume over Livingstone's bizarre act after Saini shatters stumps

Liam Livingstone’s reaction to his dismissal by Navdeep Saini in Match 66 of the Indian Premier League 2023 stirred the emotions of former Indian cricketers Harbhajan Singh and Yusuf Pathan. The veteran cricketing duo was heard critiquing the English all-rounder for his reaction after Saini dismantled his stumps in the game’s first innings in Dharamshala. Punjab Kings eventually ended up losing a do-or-die encounter as Rajasthan Royals clinched a thriller on Friday.

Bowling the second ball of the 7th over, Saini delivered the ball outside the off stump as it caught Livingstone off-guard, and the ball hit his knee. While he was seen shrugging off his leg with pain, Saini bowled a similar length delivery in the next ball but found success this time. Looking to play a similar shot as before, Livingstone ended up suffering a chastising exit as Saini dislodged the stumps.

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"We will never pick you again"

While Punjab Kings found themselves in a hole, being reduced to 50/4 with the wicket, the commentators on air were shocked to see Livingstone’s reaction to his dismissal. “If we were coach, captain or mentor of Punjab Kings and you laugh after getting out to that sort of a shot then we will never pick you (to play in IPL) again,” said Pathan during the live broadcast of the match as Harbhajan agreed to it.

PBKS were off to a disappointing start in IPL 2023 Match 66 on Friday, with Prabhsimran Singh perishing in the very first over. Atharva Taide then walked off after hitting 19 off 12, while skipper Shikhar Dhawan struck 17 off 12. However, PBKS ultimately resurrected the innings and reached 187/5 in 20 overs. Sam Curran remained unbeaten on 49 off 31 alongside Shahrukh Khan on 41 off 23, as Jitesh Sharma also hit 44 off 28.

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Meanwhile, Saini ended the innings on 3/40 and was at the peak of the Rajasthan Royals bowling lineup in Dharamshala. It proved to be a winning difference as the 2008 champs clinched a thrilling victory in the final over of the game. Devdutt Padikkal was the highest scorer of the match for RR with his 51 off 30, while Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shimron Hetmyer hit 50 and 46 runs, respectively. With the win, RR reached 14 points, on a level with Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2023 points table.