Kolkata (West Bengal): Star batter Virat Kohli has been fined 50 per cent of his match fees for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct during Match 36 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata on April 21, 2024.
According to a statement issued by the IPL, "Kohli committed a Level 1 offence under Article 2.8 of the IPL's Code of Conduct. He admitted to the offence and accepted the Match Referee’s sanction. For Level 1 breaches of the Code of Conduct, the Match Referee's decision is final and binding."
RCB were chasing a target of 223 and Kohli played a knock of 18 runs from just seven deliveries. The controversial incident occurred when the RCB ace batter was dismissed by pacer Harshit Rana on a slower dipping full toss delivery.
Kohli was shocked watching the ball coming at nearly waist height and the batter ended up showing the face of the bat in the direction of the bowl, resulting in losing his wicket by handing over a sitter straight back to the bowler.
The on-field umpire didn't give any decision and instead referred it to the third umpire for waist-height no-ball. TV umpire Michael Gough checked for the height and as per the Hawk-Eye tracking, the ball would have passed Kohli's waist at a height of 0.92 meter had he been standing and upright at the crease and declared him as out.
Kohli left the field an agitated man after having an animated discussion with the on-field umpires. The former RCB captain went furious after the third umpire's decision and RCB skipper Faf du Plessis was also seen in an animated chat with the umpires.
Kohli was seen standing outside the popping crease for the delivery and he claimed that the delivery had crossed him over his waist. However, replays showed that the ball trajectory was passing below his waist and so the delivery was ruled to be legal.
Kohli had initially walked off but he returned to give a mouthful to the umpire. The RCB star couldn't believe that he was called out and smashed the dustbin during his walk to the pavilion. While discussing the wicket, noted commentator Harsha Bhogle said 'RCB have been robbed here'.
The news soon got the attention of many social media users who reacted to the RCB batter's fine and tried to motivate him while a few people also urged to charge umpires for some pathetic umpiring throughout the tournament.
The 35-year-old later also had a chat with the umpire after the post-match presentation. He was seen showing his stance and with Kolkata Knight Riders all-rounder Rinku Singh standing beside him. He also spent some time with KKR players, giving some tips on batting.
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