Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik has spilled the beans on what exactly transpired that led to the altercation between Eoin Morgan and R Ashwin during the 41st game of IPL 2021 on Tuesday (September 28).
Ashwin and Morgan were involved in a heated exchange after the former was dismissed by Tim Southee in the last over of Delhi Capitals’ (DC) innings at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
WATCH- DC’s R Ashwin has a verbal duel with Tim Southee and KKR captain Eoin Morgan
"I know that Rahul Tripathi threw the ball and it hit Rishabh Pant and then it ricocheted of that and Ashwin started to run. I do not think Morgan appreciates that, he is someone when the ball hits the batter, he expects them not to run because of the spirit of cricket. It is a very grey area, a very interesting topic. I have my own opinion on it but I can just say I am happy to play peacemaker and thing has come to a good standstill right now," said Karthik during a virtual post-match press conference.
Notably, Pant and Ashwin had picked a second run off the last ball of the 19th over when the ball thrown by the fielder ricochets off the DC skipper.
Coming to the match, Knight Riders defeated the Capitals by three wickets in a low-scoring affair.
Asked to bat first, DC posted a paltry 127/9 in their allotted 20 overs, which KKR chased down with 10 balls to spare. Nitish Rana was the star with the bat, staying unbeaten on 36 off 27 balls to take the team over the line.
Talking about the innings of Nitish Rana, Karthik said, "Yeah, I think he played a really sensible knock. The good thing was that he stayed not out. Just the way he was able to handle pressure, it was nice to see him mature. The most important is in his life is that he wants to get into the national team and make a name for himself and hence he needs to keep on producing these knocks."
He also commented on the Sharjah pitch, saying: "Yes, I will say that it is not a great T20 wicket. It is very slow and it is not in favour of batters. It is completely in favour of bowlers. It stops on you and it is very hard for shot-making. In a nutshell, it is not a great T20 wicket. It is a very challenging wicket, I personally enjoy low-scoring games, there is a different feel for it. Sharjah is producing that so it is very interesting."
Dinesh Karthik also provided updates on the fitness of Andre Russell and Lockie Ferguson.
"I do not know how bad is the injury of Russell. It is a work in progress, the scans and all are going on. Ferguson should be fine, the serious does not that seem that serious, the match has just ended, the physio will give a proper update in a couple of hours."
(With ANI inputs)
