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IPL 2025: Punjab Kings’ Xavier Bartlett made a blunder while fielding during Kolkata Knight Riders’ run chase which resulted in five runs being awarded to KKR side. But why?
IPL 2025: Xaxier Bartlett was returning a throw during PBKS Vs KKR when the ball slipped out of his hands and rolled over to the boundary ropes. (BCCI / IPL)
Punjab Kings pulled off a heist at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur against Kolkata Knight Riders on Tuesday night. Chasing a below-par target of 112 set by PBKS, the defending champions KKR made a mess out of it as Ajinkya Rahane’s side folded for a paltry 95. KKR were well on course towards a comfortable victory as their scorecard read 62 for 2 at one stage. But a stunning bowling spell by spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, who picked up four wickets for 28 runs in his designated four overs, suddenly changed the tone of the match. A further three-fer by pacer Marco Jansen meant KKR could only add 33 runs for next eight batters. However, there was a crucial moment in the match that puzzled one and many when KKR were awarded five runs during their run chase.
Here’s what unfolded:
Xavier Bartlett
KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane was trapped in front of the wickets by Yuzvendra Chahal in the eight over during the run chase. Out came Venkatesh Iyer to bat. Iyer swept the first ball by Chahal towards long leg region for what seemed like a single. Punjab’s Xavier Bartlett, stationed in the region, collected the ball cleanly but when he was in the motion of returning the ball to the pitch, the ball slipped out of his hands and rolled back, touching the boundary cushions.
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Why 5 Runs?
Bartlett’s blunder helped KKR gain five runs when only one run seemed likely. “That will only be a single…,” Harsha Bhogle could be heard saying from the commentary box before PBKS fielder’s misfield saw the ball rolling to the boundary rope. But why five runs? Because Bartlett was throwing the ball and since it was in his hands, it was considered as four overthrows. Since KKR batters had already taken a single, a boundary was additionally counted and hence KKR were granted five runs after the bizarre event.
PBKS Vs KKR
Fortunately for Bartlett, the goof-up was only a tiny blip in the context of the match as KKR still fell short of 16 runs while chasing all of 112 set by PBKS.
Opting to bat first, the Shreyas Iyer-led side had a decent start thanks to openers Priyansh Arya (22) and Prabhsimran Singh (30) but things changed soon, very quickly.
Harshit Rana first dismissed Arya, then sent back in-form Shreyas Iyer for a two-ball duck.
Spinner Varun Chakaravarthy then clean up Australian wicketkeeper-batter Josh Inglis for two runs on his IPL debut in the next over. Then Rana sent back set batter Prabhsimran Singh to the dug out. In a matter of minutes, PBKS went from 54 for four to 86 for 8.
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While 100 seemed unlikely at this stage, Shashank Singh (18) along with Australian seamer Xavier Bartlett (11), helped PBKS cross the three-digit mark and post 111 on the scoreboard.
KKR’s Andre Russell gave plenty scare to PBKS when the batter smacked 17 runs off Chahal’s over during the tail-end of the match. Bowling the 16th over, Marco Jansen, however, scalped Russell to propel PBKS to a historic victory. Notably, this was the lowest-ever total defended by a team in IPL history.
Reacting to their win, Punjab Kings head coach and Aussie veteran Ricky Ponting said, “That might be the best win I’ve ever had in the IPL.”
