Andy Flower, the head coach of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), was found guilty of breaching the Indian Premier League (IPL) Code of Conduct for Players and Support Staff during the fixture against the Mumbai Indians in Raipur on Sunday. The former Zimbabwe batter has been docked 15 per cent of his applicable match fees for breaching Level 1 of the Code of Conduct. The 58-year-old was found guilty of breaching Article 2.3, which relates to “use of an audible obscenity during a match.”
The incident happened on the second ball of the 18th over of RCB’s batting innings. Krunal Pandya had skied the ball into the air, and Mumbai Indians’ fielders Tilak Varma and Naman Dhir made a hash out of it, and the umpires took their own sweet time in deciding whether a six should be given or not.
Naman, who was near the boundary ropes, threw the ball, thinking he was near the boundary ropes, but Tilak failed to grab it. The replays suggested that Naman was not standing on the boundary cushion, and hence, a maximum was not given. However, this did not please the RCB head coach, and he was seen arguing with the fourth umpire.
The argument between Flower and the fourth umpire, and, by extension, the key RCB support staff member, was punished. The head coach admitted to the offence and accepted the sanction imposed by the match referee Amit Sharma.
What happened in the RCB vs MI game?
Speaking of the fixture between the Mumbai Indians and RCB, the latter came out on top in a final-ball thriller in Raipur. The defending champions won by two wickets, with Krunal Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar delivering match-winning performances.
In the final three balls, nine runs were needed, and it was then that Bhuvneshwar hit a maximum off the bowling of Raj Angad Bawa. In the final delivery, Rasikh Salam Dar and Bhuvneshwar ran two and sealed the deal for RCB.
Bhuvneshwar was adjudged as Player of the Match for his four-wicket haul and then a game-defining six in the final over of RCB’s chase. Bhuvneshwar also went to the top of the Purple Cap leaderboard after his performance against the Mumbai Indians.
With this victory, RCB moved to the top of the points table with 14 points from 11 matches, while the Mumbai Indians were eliminated from the playoff race.
