Digvesh Singh Rathi Fined for ‘Notebook’ Celebration as PBKS Dominate LSG

The BCCI has taken disciplinary action against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) bowler Digvesh Singh Rathi for breaking the IPL Code of Conduct during a match against Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow. Digvesh was fined 25% of his match fee and given one demerit point for his excited “notebook” celebration after dismissing PBKS opener Priyansh Arya.

"Digvesh Singh, bowler, Lucknow Super Giants has been fined 25 per cent of his match fees and has also accumulated one Demerit Point for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct during his team’s match against Punjab Kings at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow on Tuesday," BCCI said in a statement after the LSG vs PBKS match.

What happened between Rathi and Arya?

During the second-last ball of the third over in PBKS's chase, Digvesh bowled a short and wide delivery to Priyansh Arya. Arya went for a pull shot but mistimed it, sending the ball high into the air. Shardul Thakur took a sharp catch, dismissing Arya for 8 runs off 9 balls. As Arya walked back to the pavilion, Digvesh celebrated by pretending to write in an imaginary notebook, a gesture similar to the famous celebration of West Indies bowler Kesrick Williams.

The umpires noticed Digvesh’s celebration and spoke to him about it on the field. Digvesh accepted that he had committed a Level 1 offence under Article 2.5 and agreed to the punishment. However, his celebration did not go down well with legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar.

#DigveshRathi provides the breakthrough as #PriyanshArya heads back!

P.S: Don't miss the celebration at the end! 👀✍🏻

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During the commentary, Gavaskar said, “I can understand the celebration if the wicket comes after the batsman hit a boundary or a six in the previous ball. As a bowler, you’ve got six deliveries. So if you got five dot balls and get a wicket of the sixth, then you do something like that, it’s not understandable. But all these gestures mean that you don’t expect to get a wicket. And now that you’ve got a wicket, you’re trying to, you know, show off.”

PBKS Crush LSG to Reach Second Place

Digvesh Singh Rathi was a bright spot in an otherwise tough day for LSG’s bowlers, finishing with 2 wickets for 30 runs in his four overs. Sadly, the rest of the bowling attack struggled, as PBKS comfortably chased down the 173-run target in just 16.2 overs.

PBKS won the match thanks to strong performances from Prabhsimran Singh, who scored 69 runs off 34 balls, and captain Shreyas Iyer, who remained unbeaten with 52 runs off 30 balls. This win moved PBKS to second place on the points table. They now have four points, just like RCB and DC, who have also won their first two matches and are still unbeaten in the tournament.

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