Best Fight in IPL History
Cricket is often referred to as a gentleman’s game due to the sportsmanship and fair play displayed by most cricketers. While this tradition has endured, it has also evolved over time. However, it must be acknowledged that cricket is not entirely a gentleman’s game anymore. In order to unnerve and distract their opponents, cricketers often engage in verbal banter or sledging. This practice is not unheard of, even in contemporary cricket.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) is widely regarded as the most prestigious T20 league in the world of cricket. With enormous amounts of money, extensive viewership, and high broadcasting rights, it is one of the wealthiest sporting events. Sledging and heated confrontations are not uncommon during the IPL. Over the years, several incidents have occurred in which players have exchanged words or argued with umpires. This list comprises ten such incidents that have taken place in the IPL.
Top 10 Biggest Fights in IPL History
Here is the list of the Top 10 Biggest Fights in IPL History. Check below to know the complete stories of the fights.
|
S.No |
IPL Fights |
|
1 |
Virat Kohli vs Gautam Gambhir |
|
2 |
Kieron Pollard vs Mitchell Starc |
|
3 |
Harbhajan Singh vs Sreesanth |
|
4 |
Harbhajan Singh vs Ambati Rayudu |
|
5 |
Munaf Patel vs Amit Mishra |
|
6 |
Sourav Ganguly vs Shane Warne |
|
7 |
Kieron Pollard vs Shane Watson |
|
8 |
Kieron Pollard argues with umpires |
|
9 |
MS Dhoni argues with umpires |
|
10 |
Dwayne Bravo vs Kieron Pollard |
Let us see each of the fights in detail.
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Top 10 IPL Fights
1. Virat Kohli vs Gautam Gambhir
In the 12th match of the 6th edition of the IPL in 2013, Royal Challengers Bangalore took on Kolkata Knight Riders at Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. Royal Challengers Bangalore won the toss and chose to bowl first against Kolkata Knight Riders, who scored a total of 154 runs. In the run chase, Virat Kohli, who was still in his early days as captain, was looking good with 35 runs off 26 balls when he was dismissed against the run of play. This dismissal disappointed him, and he became angry when he heard some words from the opposition team.
The opposition captain Gautam Gambhir engaged in a heated exchange with Virat, which was shocking as it involved captains of both teams. Rajat Bhatia intervened and succeeded in ending the altercation between the two captains. Their conduct breached the level 1 code of violence, and both were fined 10% of the match fees. This confrontation between Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir in the IPL is considered the biggest fight in the tournament’s history.
2. Kieron Pollard vs Mitchell Starc
In the 7th season of IPL in 2014, the 27th match between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore took place at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. Royal Challengers Bangalore won the toss and chose to bowl first. Mumbai Indians were in a decent position, having scored 133/4. Mitchell Starc was asked to bowl, and he delivered a bouncer to Kieron Pollard. This led to a verbal exchange between the two players, after which Pollard gestured to Starc to return and bowl.
However, when Starc continued to bowl, Pollard threw his bat towards him in anger. The incident created a huge uproar in the match, and the umpires had to intervene, along with Rohit Sharma and Chris Gayle, to calm the situation down.
3. Harbhajan Singh vs Sreesanth
In the first edition of the IPL in 2008, the 10th match of the season was played between Kings XI Punjab and Mumbai Indians at Mohali Cricket Stadium. Mumbai Indians won the toss and chose to bowl first. Kings XI Punjab scored a massive total of 182 runs in their 20 overs. Mumbai Indians struggled to chase the target and lost the game by a whopping 66 runs.
Following the defeat, Sreesanth, a bowler from Kings XI Punjab, taunted Harbhajan Singh, which further angered the already frustrated Harbhajan Singh. In the heat of the moment, Harbhajan Singh slapped Sreesanth. The footage of the event did not go viral, but Sreesanth’s crying face went viral. As a result of his actions, Harbhajan Singh was banned from the remainder of the season. Later, it was revealed that the players had resolved the issue by apologizing to each other.
4. Harbhajan Singh vs Ambati Rayudu
The incident took place during the 9th edition of the IPL in 2016, in the 29th match of the season between Rising Pune Supergiant and Mumbai Indians at MCA Stadium, Pune. Mumbai Indians won the toss and chose to bowl first. During the match, Rising Pune Supergiant was comfortably placed at 96/2 in 10.2 overs when Saurabh Tiwary faced Harbhajan Singh’s bowling. The ball was hit towards the deep mid-wicket region where Ambati Rayudu was fielding. However, Rayudu fumbled, and the ball went past the boundary ropes. Harbhajan Singh, who was not happy with the effort put in by Rayudu, expressed his anger. The exchange of words between Harbhajan Singh and Rayudu resulted in a heated argument between the two players. Despite Harbhajan Singh’s attempt to clear the air and apologise, Rayudu was not satisfied with the apology. The incident was unique as it occurred between players of the same team.
5. Munaf Patel vs Amit Mishra
In the fourth edition of the IPL in 2011, the 59th match of the season was played between Deccan Chargers and Mumbai Indians at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. After winning the toss, Deccan Chargers opted to bat first and were struggling at 105/6 in 18 overs on a pitch that was not very conducive for batting. In this situation, Amit Mishra came in to bat and hit two consecutive boundaries off Munaf Patel.
The bowler, Munaf Patel, tried to dismiss him but failed and got frustrated. This led to a heated argument and physical altercation between the two players. The umpires had to intervene and separate them to restore order on the field. Despite the ugly altercation, Amit Mishra scored 18 crucial runs in just 6 balls and also took a wicket to help Deccan Chargers win the game. This incident remains one of the most unpleasant fights between two players in the history of IPL.
6. Sourav Ganguly vs Shane Warne
In the inaugural season of the IPL in 2008, the 18th match of the tournament was played between Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur. Rajasthan Royals won the toss and elected to bat first, posting a formidable total of 196 runs in their 20 overs. Kolkata Knight Riders, led by their captain Sourav Ganguly, were in the game while he was at the crease and had scored a fifty. However, Ganguly was dismissed by the opposition captain Shane Warne, who claimed to have taken the catch, but denied it later and asked the umpire to prove the legitimacy of the catch. The camera angles were not conclusive enough to prove the legitimacy of the catch, which resulted in a heated argument between the two captains. Eventually, Ganguly was given out and was given a sendoff by the Rajasthan Royals players.
In the post-match conference, Warne stated that Ganguly should have accepted the decision of the on-field umpire instead of arguing. Both players were fined 10% of their match fees. This incident is considered one of the biggest fights in IPL history.
7. Kieron Pollard vs Shane Watson
The clash between Kieron Pollard and Shane Watson occurred during the 7th edition of the IPL in 2013. The 66th match of the season was played between Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. Rajasthan Royals won the toss and decided to bowl first. As Mumbai Indians were batting, they managed to score 166 runs in their 20 overs. When Rajasthan Royals started their innings, they lost two wickets for just 22 runs, and were struggling at 28/4 when Shane Watson came in to bat.
During the match, Pollard made an unpleasant remark towards Watson, who then complained to the umpire. Despite this, Pollard continued to laugh, prompting the umpire to ask Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma to warn Pollard. Watson was later dismissed in the 10th over, and Pollard’s over-the-top celebrations during his catch prompted another exchange of words between the two. The situation escalated even further when Pollard continued to argue with Watson even after he had reached his dugout. This altercation was considered to be one of the most unpleasant and ugly exchanges of words in the history of IPL. Rahul Dravid, the captain of Rajasthan Royals, had to intervene and guide Watson to the dressing room.
8. Kieron Pollard argues with Umpires
In the 2019 edition of the IPL, during the 16th match of the season between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians at Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, Kieron Pollard had an argument with the umpire. Royal Challengers Bangalore had won the toss and decided to bowl first. Mumbai Indians had posted a massive score of 209 runs on the board. During Royal Challengers Bangalore’s run chase, Kieron Pollard tried to provoke Chris Gayle, who was struggling to get into his rhythm, with some words. As a result, Pollard was warned by the umpire not to disturb the batsman. Pollard wasn’t pleased with the warning and a few overs later, in a cheeky move, he taped his mouth as an indirect message to the umpire. This behavior was not considered appropriate on the cricket field, and the umpire was right in warning Pollard not to repeat it. It was not a display of great sportsmanship, and this incident is considered one of the ugliest moments on a cricket field.
9. MS Dhoni argues with Umpires
In the 2019 season of the IPL, during the 25th match between Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur, MS Dhoni had a heated argument with the umpires. Chennai Super Kings won the toss and chose to bowl first. After Rajasthan Royals were restricted to 151 runs, Chennai Super Kings had a poor start and were struggling at 24/4. The match came down to the last over, with 18 runs needed.
MS Dhoni was batting on 58 and was dismissed when the equation came down to 8 runs from 3 balls. During the over, Ben Stokes bowled a beamer to Mitchell Santner, who managed to score two runs from it. However, the beamer created a controversy as the main umpire signalled no ball while the leg-umpire didn’t, leading to confusion among all. Infuriated by the decision, MS Dhoni came out of the dugout and questioned the umpire. This act was not ideal for a captain and did not go well with a certain section of cricket fans.
10. Dwayne Bravo vs Kieron Pollard
The fight between the Caribbean brothers, Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo, tops our list of the biggest fights in IPL history. This incident took place during the fifth edition of the IPL in 2012, in the eliminator match between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. After Chennai Super Kings posted a mammoth total of 187 on the board, Mumbai Indians collapsed in their run chase, being down to 129/7 with 59 runs needed in 13 balls. During the 18th over, bowled by Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard was caught out, and Bravo gave him a sendoff indicating that their campaign was over and better to take the flight home. Although Pollard didn’t react, the sendoff caused controversy among the cricket fanatics and Mumbai Indians supporters. Despite the funny nature of this IPL fight, it became popular because it involved two of the greatest T20 superstars.
What is the Biggest Fight in IPL History ?
The fight between Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir in IPL 2013 happened during the 12th match of the season between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders at Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. During RCB’s run chase, Virat Kohli was looking good with 35 runs in 26 balls when he gave away his wicket. He was disappointed, but he suddenly became angry as he saw some words being thrown towards him by the opposition. He then confronted them, and the opposition captain Gautam Gambhir had some words with him.
The exchange was so ugly that Rajat Bhatia had to intervene and eventually end the fight between the two captains. Both players breached the level 1 code of violence and were fined 10% of the match fees each.
Conclusion
The Indian Premier League (IPL) has had its fair share of controversies, including heated arguments and fights between players. Some of the most notable incidents include Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir’s altercation in 2013, Kieron Pollard’s clash with Mitchell Starc in 2014, and the infamous slap by Harbhajan Singh on Sreesanth in 2008. Such incidents reflect the intense competition and pressure that come with playing in the IPL, as players fight tooth and nail for victory. While such fights are regrettable, they add to the excitement and drama of the tournament, making it one of the most watched and talked-about sporting events in the world.
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