"They hit Prerak Mankad on the head...": Jonty Rhodes over altercation with Hyderabad crowd

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 clash between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Lucknow Super Giants was halted due to an altercation between the fans and the LSG dugout at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Saturday.

"Not at the dugout, but at the players. They hit Prerak Mankad on the head while he was fielding at long-on. #noton", said Jonty in a tweet claiming that nuts and bolts were thrown at the players, not the dugout.

The altercation began when the third umpire decided to deny SRH's Abdul Samad a waist-high no-ball against LSG's Avesh Khan in the third ball of the 19th over.

Initially, the on-field umpire deemed it as a no-ball but, LSG decided to review the decision. The matter went to the third umpire and he decided to overturn the initial decision which enraged the fans as well as SRH batter Heinrich Klaasen. The South African batter went to the umpire to protest against the decision in an animated fashion.

As everybody on the field started to process the decision, LSG members were seen pointing at the crowd. The actual incident that provoked the fans has not been revealed but reports emerged that fans threw nuts and bolts at the LSG dugout.

The game was halted and there are reports that the on-field umpire had to run all the way to the dugout and try to calm down things. Andy Flower was seen having a chat with the umpire as well. Things started to get ugly as de Kock and Klaasen, the two South Africans were having a chat.

During the mid-innings interview, Klaasen showcased his disappointment regarding the decision as well as the way the crowd reacted to the decision.

"Disappointed of the crowd to be honest, that's not what you want. That also broke the momentum, not great umpiring either," Klassen said after the first innings.

Opting to bat first, SRH put on a total of 182/6 in their 20 overs. Amolpreet Singh (36 in 27 balls) provided a solid start at the top. In the middle order, useful knocks came from Heinrich Klaasen (47 in 29 balls), Abdul Samad (37* in 25 balls) and skipper Aiden Markram (28 in 20 balls).

Krunal Pandya (2/24) was the pick of the bowlers for SRH. Yudhvir Singh, Avesh Khan, Yash Thakur, Amit Mishra took a wicket each.

Chasing 183, knocks from Prerak Mankad (64* in 45 balls, seven fours and two sixes). Marcus Stoinis (40 in 25 balls) and Nicholas Pooran (44* in 13 balls) helped the side clinch a seven-wicket win.

With this win, LSG has 13 points, with six wins and five losses in their 12 games. One of their games ended with no result. SRH is in the ninth position with four wins and seven losses in 11 matches. (ANI)