Nitish Rana was the latest captain to be fined for over-rate offence in IPL 2023. The Kolkata Knight Riders captain was docked ₹12 lakh from his match fees after his team maintained a slow-over rate against the Punjab Kings at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. It falls under a breach of the IPL Code of Conduct.
“Kolkata Knight Riders captain Nitish Rana has been fined after his team maintained a slow over-rate during their Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Punjab Kings at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. As it was his team’s first offence of the season under the IPL’s Code of Conduct relating to minimum over-rate offences, Rana was fined Rs. 12 lakh,” said IPL in a release. Rana, however, would be mighty pleased with the way his team performed to beat PBKS in a last-ball thriller and stay alive in the tournament. What’s more, he himself played a crucial role by returning as the top-scorer with 51 off 38 balls.
Walking in to bat at No.3 on Monday, the left-hander hit six fours and a six in his patient knock on a pitch that was not exactly a placid one for batting. After Rana’s dismissal, Andre Russell and Rinku Singh took centre stage to take KKR over the line. Russell hit a 23-ball 42 while Rinku remained unbeaten 21 off 10 balls. The left-hander hit a boundary when 2 runs were required off the last ball of the match to keep KKR alive in the race to playoffs.
Kolkata rose to fifth on the table and within striking distance of the top four, trailing fourth-placed Rajasthan Royals on net run-rate. Punjab slipped to seventh on run-rate.
