IPL penalises Kolkata Knight Riders' mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy for rule violation against CSK

Indian mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy has been put on the axe for violating the code of conduct of the Indian Premier League. The incident unfolded on Wednesday night when defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders hosted five-time winners Chennai Super Kings at the Eden Gardens.

The hosts faced a close defeat against Chennai in their backyard. The defeat has considerably dented Kolkata's chances of making it to the playoffs.

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Varun Chakravarthy penalised by IPL

The incident occurred in the 12th over of Chennai's innings. Varun Chakravarthy scalped the dangerous-looking Dewald Brevis in the fourth delivery of the over. Following his dismissal, Varun made an indecent gesture to celebrate his wicket. Although IPL didn't specify the exact nature of his gesture and what it meant, it clearly stated that it was against Article 2.5 of the IPL Code of Conduct. As a result, he has been penalised with 25% of his match fees and one demerit point.

The rule is implemented in situations where there is a possibility that the dismissed player may evoke an aggressive reaction at the celebrations of their wicket due to the opposition's indecent language, action or gesture.

“Varun Chakaravarthy admitted to the Level 1 offence under Article 2.5 and accepted the Match Referee’s sanction,” said the IPL.

Earlier, batting first, Kolkata managed to put a decent target of 180 runs on the board at the back of a captain's knock of 48 runs by Ajinkya Rahane and powerful finishing by Manish Pandey and Andre Russel. Considering Chennai's poor season and their inability to chase targets, the total appeared to be a winning score. 

Kolkata bowlers were off to a good start as they scalped three wickets for just 37 runs by the third over of the second innings. Chennai got into a spot of bother as they lost two more by the time they had only 60 runs on the board. But then came Dewald Brevis, the young South African batter often known as 'Baby AB', who turned the game on its head. He smashed Kolkata's bowlers all over the park and notched up his half-century in just 24 balls. His innings proved to be the turning point of the match. Even after his dismissal, the required run rate remained in control of the Yellow Tigers, and they jogged to victory on the back of their veteran skipper, MS Dhoni.

KKR will next face Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their final two league matches.