Published 15:39 IST, April 21st 2019
WATCH: Murugan Ashwin does something strange, umpire signals it as a no ball
Delhi Capitals avenged their reverse fixture loss as they beat King XI Punjab by five wickets at the Feroz Shah Kotla on Saturday
Delhi Capitals avenged their reverse fixture loss as they beat King XI Punjab by five wickets at the Feroz Shah Kotla on Saturday. There were many spectacular moments in the contest which included Colin Ingram and Axar Patel's double team effort to get rid of the dangerous Chris Gayle and Shikhar Dhawan's mini-dance at the non-striker's end when Punjab skipper Ravichandran Ashwin tried to 'Mankad' him.
However, there was yet another strange moment in the match which arguably stood out the most.
This happened in the eighth over of Delhi's run chase which was bowled by young Murugan Ashwin and skipper Shreyas Iyer was on strike. Ashwin was introduced into the attack in that very over. When the leg-spinner tried to bowl the second delivery, the ball slipped out of his hands and rolled on to the ground. Shreyas Iyer initially came down the track and thought about hitting the ball but he backed out at the last moment and went inside his crease. However, when the 28-year old turned back to return to his bowling crease he was left stunned when the on-field umpire declared it as a no ball. Punjab skipper Ravichandran Ashwin then came and enquired with the umpire about why it was signalled as a no ball.
The umpire then said that it was declared as a no-ball because Murugan Ashwin had tried to rotate the hand over a certain degree. The KXIP skipper was convinced with the umpire as a free hit was declared as well.
This video was posted on Twitter. Watch it here.
Delhi Capitals skipper Shreyas Iyer won the toss and elected to bowl first. It turned out to be a good decision as the hosts got the wicket of in-form batsman KL Rahul very early and even Mayank Agarwal followed him soon. Chris Gayle anchored Punjab's innings. The 'Universe Boss' played an explosive knock of a 37-ball 69 at a strike rate of 186.89 including six boundaries and five maximums. His blistering knock helped the visitors get to a respectable total of 163/7 in their 20 overs.
In reply, Delhi reached the target in the penultimate over after splendid half-centuries from Shikhar Dhawan and skipper Shreyas Iyer. Dhawan scored a 41-ball 56 while Iyer remained unbeaten on 58 from 49 deliveries. The duo stitched in a 92 run second wicket stand after Prithvi Shaw was dismissed early.
Updated 16:49 IST, April 21st 2019