Faf du Plessis fined ₹12 lakh for maintaining slow over rate in defeat against LSG; Avesh Khan also reprimanded for Code of Conduct breach

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain Faf du Plessis has been handed a ₹12 lakh fine for maintaining a slow over rate in the last-ball defeat against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Monday, April 10.

Bangalore were already handed an on-field penalty for their slow over rate. They failed to begin the 20th over before the cutoff time and were forced to bring in an extra fielder inside the circle, leaving only four in the deep by the boundary line.

The IPL released a short statement pertaining to the incident, which also involved Avesh Khan breaching the Code of Conduct. The No.11 batter was seen throwing his helmet on the ground after completing the final run, which sealed the win for the visitors. The pacer has admitted to the Level 1 offense.

The statement read:

"The Royal Challengers Bangalore have been fined for maintaining a slow over-rate during their TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 match 15 against the Lucknow Super Giants at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, on Monday.As it was the team’s first offence of the season under the IPL’s Code of Conduct relating to minimum over-rate offences, captain Faf du Plessis was fined Rs 12 lakhs."

The statement continued:

"Lucknow Super Giants’ Avesh Khan has been reprimanded for breaching the Code of Conduct. Mr Avesh admitted to level 1 offence 2.2 of IPL’s Code of Conduct and accepted the sanction."

Avesh came out to bat on the final ball of the innings after RCB dismissed Jaydev Unadkat on the penultimate delivery by Harshal Patel.

While the tailender could not connect the bat with the ball, a fumble behind the stumps by Dinesh Karthik was more than enough for the batting pair to scamper through for a bye.

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"I fancied my chances of a runout there" - Faf du Plessis

The RCB skipper was the top scorer for his side after LSG put the three-time finalists into bat first. Du Plessis scored an unbeaten 79 off 46 deliveries, marking his second fifty of the campaign.

He is now placed third on the Orange Cap list, but his most recent knock ended in vain as RCB suffered their second successive defeat.

During the post-match presentation, Du Plessis said:

"Obviously they played very well in the middle. Last over, 1 off 1 ball, I fancied my chances of a runout there. Just looking at the wicket, when we were batting, it was quite slow from over 7-14. As the innings went on, then the ball started skidding on a bit better with the moisture on the surface. That was the case through the second innings."

RCB will next take on the Delhi Capitals (DC) on Saturday, April 15.

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