Indian Premier League

KKR rising star Harshit Rana fined and banned by BCCI

by
Zainab Shafiq
April 30, 2024

Table of Contents

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) rising star Harshit Rana has found himself in hot water with the BCCI after breaching the IPL’s Code of Conduct during their match against the Delhi Capitals (DC) on April 29th, 2024.

The 22-year-old pacer, who has been one of the standout performers of IPL 2024 with 11 wickets, grabbed headlines for his on-field actions despite his bowling heroics. This isn’t the first time Rana has been penalized for his celebrations. He was previously hit with a hefty fine for blowing a flying kiss at Mayank Agarwal of the Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Rana seemingly repeated the same mistake against DC after dismissing young Abhishek Porel. Despite being hit for boundaries earlier in the over, Rana managed to dismiss Porel and celebrated by gesturing him towards the dugout in a similar manner.

The BCCI, taking a zero-tolerance approach, fined Rana and handed him a one-match suspension for breaching the Code of Conduct. Notably, Rana becomes the first player in IPL 2024 to be banned for such a violation.

KKR manage to win despite Harshit Rana’s ban

While Rana’s actions stole some of the spotlight, the match itself saw Delhi Capitals chase down a modest target of 154 runs with ease. Phil Salt led the way for DC with a blistering knock of 68 runs off just 33 balls, while his opening partner, Sunil Narine (KKR) from the other end, could only manage 15 runs.

Despite Rana’s dismissal of Porel, KKR managed to post a defendable total thanks to a crucial partnership between Shreyas Iyer (52) and Venkatesh Iyer (47) towards the end. This win propelled KKR to their sixth victory in the tournament, further solidifying their position in the IPL points table.

Chasing the target, DC’s batting unit struggled against KKR’s potent bowling attack. Captain Rishabh Pant could only manage 27 runs before being dismissed by Varun Chakaravarthy.

Kuldeep Yadav was the lone bright spark for DC with a knock of 35 runs, but it wasn’t enough to set a competitive total. The KKR bowlers, with Rana picking up two wickets, collectively restricted DC’s batsmen to153/9, ensuring a comfortable victory for their side.