Saint Lucia Kings pacer Alzarri Joseph lost his cool during a Caribbean Premier League (CPL) match against the Guyana Amazon Warriors on Saturday. The incident happened on the penultimate ball of the ninth over with Guyana closing in on a comprehensive win. Joseph bowled to Shimron Hetmyer who punched the ball straight back at the latter. However, Joseph’s frustration boiled over as he threw the ball towards the stumps, even though Hetmyer was rooted into the crease. After doing the same, Joseph gave a long stare to Hetmyer, who responded in style on the next ball.

On the next ball, Hetmyer hit him for a monstrous six over midwicket, with Guyana needing just nine runs to win. The incident involving Joseph and Hetmyer has gone viral.

Hetmyer strikes back #CPL24 #CricketPlayedLouder #BiggestPartyInSport pic.twitter.com/pGzVBTxCD4

— CPL T20 (@CPL) September 14, 2024

Coming back to the match, Saint Lucia Kings were bowled out for a paltry total of 100 after Guyana Amazon Warriors opted to bowl first in Gros Islet.

In reply, Guyana achieved the target in 10 overs, and with six wickets to spare.

Faf du Plessis, St Lucia Kings captain, expressed his disappointment over the result. Speaking after the match, he said: “Extremely disappointing. What we did wrong there, batting first on a pitch that was tacky…just assessing the conditions and playing properly. When you lose wickets like that consistently…they did well to restrict us. There are areas that you can improve on but for me, it is about assessing conditions. In St Kitts, you don’t mind guys having a crack but on a new wicket, you can probably take your time and take the shine off. You always try to be positive but that is the learning from tonight. (On playing the Trinbago Knight Riders next) Two tough games in a row. We will reassess and see where we can get better tactically. Tonight was not our best. Most of our wickets was batters giving their wickets away and something for us to work on.”

On the contrary, Guyana skipper Imran Tahir was delighted with the result and praised his bowlers for setting up a crucial win.

“I am just happy that it came out nicely and I did the job for my team. I believe everyone did their job from the start. Whoever bowled, in the middle and at the start, did a great job. We had a plan and it worked for us. We have been playing good cricket, nice to see the results going our way. (On what they plan to do in the upcoming week) We deserve this week off. We are going to go and get together on one of the evenings. Pretty much chilling and knowing more about Barbados. Take it slowly for one or two days and then get back to it. We have always been very grateful to the fans, you guys have been amazing and their support is really important to us. A big thanks to everyone (around the world),” Tahir said at the post-match press conference.

Tom Moody slammed Sanju Samson over his “tactical blunder” against SRH.© BCCI

Rajasthan Royals lost by 36 runs against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Qualifier 2© BCCI

Ravichandran Ashwin does not want to single out impact player rule as the only contributing factor in high scores being recorded several times this IPL, as the premier India spinner attributes it to the evolution of batters. Ashwin also has urged bowlers to start working on their batting skills in order to meet the demands of the game. The season has witnessed some astonishing batting records — teams crossed the 200-run mark for a staggering 41 times whereas the 250-mark was breached on eight instances in the league round.

IPL’s record highest team total of 287 was also registered in the ongoing edition.

“Even if the impact player rule wasn’t there, scores would be this high,” Ashwin said on JioCinema Match Centre Live after their four-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL Eliminator, here on Wednesday.

“In my opinion, batters have more confidence and pitches everywhere have been standardised.” “In the future, all bowlers will need to be hitters because we know that no matter how well we bowl, we also need to be able to bat. The game is headed in that direction,” he said.

While Indian captain Rohit Sharma has criticised the rule, arguing that it hampers the development of all-rounders in the country, star batter Virat Kohli has opined that it disrupts the balance of the game.

The rule was formally adopted in the 2023 edition of the IPL after a trial in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy domestic T20s.

The BCCI secretary Jay Shah recently said the impact player rule was implemented on a ‘test case’ basis and is not a permanent one. Shah has also said the board authorities will talk to the stakeholders before taking a final call on the debatable rule.

Coming off a gruelling five-match home Test series against England where he was the leading wicket-taker in India’s 4-1 win, Ashwin said he had to overcome an abdominal injury and started bowling in his elements only in the business end of the competition.

“My tournament has gone in two halves. The first half was coming off the Test series, so my body didn’t feel fresh. My arm speed wasn’t there and I also had an injury, an abdomen tear. I played through the injury but didn’t get much bowling time or repetitions.

Ashwin was adjudged man-of-the-match for his miserly 2/19 that restricted Royal Challengers Bengaluru to 172/8.

“I am someone who depends on bowling repetitions. Over the last 6-7 games, I feel like my rhythm came back. I was able to bowl off spin. I changed my action slightly. My plan was simple. I came with a single-minded focus on changing the line and length of my deliveries and it was executed well,” added Ashwin.

Ashwin has also hailed Riyan Parag’s maturity and said the Assam batter has come a long way since making his debut as an 18-year-old in IPL 2019.

“It’s important to give batters, especially junior batters, role clarity. Riyan came into the team as a 17-year-old child and he’s matured over the years, getting role clarity for the first time this season.

“I never doubted his ability. The shot he hit over the covers tonight, not many batters can hit that. Based on his talent and how his season has gone, I think he can reach wherever he wants to,” he said. PTI TAP DDV