RCB head coach Flower fined for "use of audible obscenity" during match against MI

A statement from the IPL said, "Andy Flower, Head Coach, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, has been fined 15% of his applicable match fee for breaching Level 1 of the IPL's Code of Conduct for Players and Team officials."

"Andy was found to have breached article 2.3 of the IPL's Code of Conduct, which relates to "use of an audible obscenity during a match." The incident occurred in 17.2 over when Andy spoke aggressively with the fourth umpire.

During the second ball of the 18th over, Krunal hit a ball high in the sky, which was caught by Naman Dhir, who parried the ball back to Tilak Varma before he could cross the boundary, only for Tilak to give no reaction at all to the catch. A no-run was called on the ball after the checks on whether it was a six or not, and Andy was seen in an unusual animated avatar following the delivery.

Andy admitted to the offence and accepted the sanction imposed by Match Referee, Amit Sharma.

Coming to the match, RCB won the toss and opted to bowl first. The decision seemed to pay off when MI sunk to 28/3 within the powerplay courtesy of a Bhuvneshwar masterclass. However, Naman Dhir (47 in 32 balls, with five fours and two sixes) and Tilak Varma (57 in 42, with three fours and two sixes) built the innings with an 82-run stand, taking MI to 166/7 in 20 overs.

Bhuvneshwar (4/23) was the pick of the bowlers for RCB, with Josh Hazlewood (1/33) and Romario Shepherd (1/18 in three overs) also chipping in useful overs with the ball.

During the chase, RCB lost Virat Kohli (0) for a second successive golden duck and eventually sank to 39/3, with Deepak Chahar (2/33) dictating the game. However,

Krunal built a 55-run stand with Jacob Bethell (26 in 27 balls, with two fours) and another useful 38-run stand with Jitesh Sharma (18), reaching a brilliant counter-attacking fifty. However, Corbin Bosch (4/26) and Allah Ghazanfar (1/33) pulled off things with crucial wickets, removing Krunal as well, reducing RCB to 149/7 in 18 overs.

Romario Shepherd (4 in 11 balls), struggled against Jasprit Bumrah (0/20), leaving RCB with 12 to get in the final over. A flurry of extras from Raj Angad Bawa and a six from Bhuvneshwar helped ease the pressure despite Romario's dismissal, and RCB secured a last-ball win, with Rasikh Salam Dar (3*) hitting the winning runs.

With seven wins and four losses, RCB is at the top of the points table, with 14 points. MI is at the ninth spot with three wins and eight losses, eliminated from the playoff race along with Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). (ANI)