Lucknow Super Giants captain Rishabh Pant smashed a fine half-century to drag his side to their first win of IPL 2026. Chasing 157 to win, Pant held anchor to score his first half-century of the season to seal a final over run chase. Pant sealed the win with a boundary off the penultimate ball of the 20th over.
However, what happened later is what sparked controversy. Pant's shot was hit back on the field by Avesh Khan who was padded up in the dug out. Although comical, Arshin Kulkarni raised his hand in disbelief to Avesh's reaction. Soon claims sparked online that SRH could have appealed the same which would have resulted in a 5-run penalty for LSG. That would have effectively kept them in the contest, with the visitors then needing 6 off 2 balls.
Fact check: Did Avesh Khan flout the rules?
The simple answer to the question is no. However, the confusion is justified due to how the law is interpreted. As per Law 19 (Boundaries) of the MCC Laws of Cricket, a boundary is scored when the ball first touches the boundary or the ground beyond it.
Once that happens, the ball is immediately considered dead for boundary purposes, and runs are awarded. In the Avesh Khan case, Pant's shot was declared a boundary as he cleared the mid-off fielder. Avesh Khan's actions thus does not result in a penalty as the ball is effectively treated as dead. Even if the ball hadn't landed yet, once it crosses the boundary, the play is considered over.
The 5 penalty runs are awarded in rare cases. For it be applied, Law 41 states that the conduct has to be unfair and usually intended to deceive, obstruct, or gain an illegal advantage. Avesh hitting the ball with his bat near the boundary was not deception or obstruction. Neither did he obstruct or prevent any run illegally.
Skipper Rishabh Pant (68 not out) produced a captain's knock after pacer Mohammed Shami weaved his magic, leading Lucknow Super Giants to a comfortable five-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in an IPL match here on Sunday.
Shami (2/9) struck early blows, dismissing the opening duo of Abhishek Sharma (0) and Travis Head (7), which was crucial in restricting SRH to 156 for nine.
Heinrich Klaasen (62 off 41 balls) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (56 off 33 balls) shared a 116-run stand for the fifth wicket to take SRH to a decent total.
