Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) all-rounder Sunil Narine's bat didn't pass the gauge test as the reserve umpire was seen checking it beyond the boundary line before he walked out to open the innings in the IPL 2025 game against the Punjab Kings on Tuesday. A video of the same surfaced on social media during the match.
As per latest rules, stated by ESPN Cricinfo, the width of the bat face should not exceed 10.79cm, the thickness of the same shouldn't go over 6.7cm. Moreover, the width of the edge of the bat shouldn't be over 4cm and the lenth shouldn't go over 96.4 cm. The guidelines have been introduced, keeping in mind the need to maintain the balance between bat and ball.
Watch the video here as reserve umpire Saiyed Khalid refuses to give a green signal to Narine's bat:
Sunil Narine shines with the ball but flops with bat as Knight Riders lose low-scoring thriller
Meanwhile, the Trinidadian shone with the ball against the Punjab Kings, taking sensational figures of 3-0-14-3 to bowl the home side out for 111 in an innings that lasted only 15.3 overs. However, Marco Jansen got the better of him in the very first over to dent the Knight Riders in their run-chase.
While the defending champions were in control of the run-chase until the eighth over, Ajinkya Rahane's dismissal sparked a stunning batting collapse and they got bowled out for 95 in 15.1 overs. Yuzvendra Chahal was adjudged Player of the Match for his haul of 4-0-28-4.
