[Watch] Harshit Rana pulls out of his flying kiss celebration after dismissing Abishek Porel with a cutter in KKR vs DC IPL 2024 clash
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) pacer Harshit Rana gave Delhi Capitals' (DC) batter Abishek Porel a send-off after dismissing him in the ongoing 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) contest at Eden Gardens on Monday.
After a rather drab display in the powerplay against the Mumbai Indians (MI), Porel showcased a lot of intent despite DC being in a tricky situation, losing three early wickets. The left-handed batter raced off to 17 runs off 10 deliveries, smashing three successive boundaries in Rana's first over.
The pacer bowled his second over right after the powerplay and tricked Porel with a cutter. The batter tried to execute a scoop after walking away from the stumps. However, Abishek Porel missed the ball entirely, which knocked over his stump.
Harshit Rana gestured for Porel to walk back to the dressing room after making a mess of the stumps. He almost gave a flying kiss to celebrate the wicket but refrained from doing so. It is worth noting that the flying kiss celebration earned him a sanction in the first game of the season.
Have a look at the dismissal and the celebration right here:
Porel scored 18 runs off 15 deliveries, recording two fours and a six before his dismissal.
Rana, on the other hand, is having quite a mixed day on the field. His first over resulted in 16 runs being conceded, but he responded strongly with a wicket in the next and also a wicket. He then dropped a sitter off Varun Chakravarthy's bowling to give Rishabh Pant a second chance.
Harshit Rana has already copped a fine in IPL 2024 because of his celebration
This is not the first instance where the pacer has unleashed such a celebration after claiming a wicket. Harshit Rana dished out similar aggressive celebrations in KKR's season opener win over the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) at Eden Gardens.
Rana had got into Mayank Agarwal's face and sent him off to the pavilion with a flying kiss. The bowler also brought out the walk to the dressing room celebration with his hand-like gesture against Porel after dismissing Heinrich Klaasen in the final over of the close contest.
He was fined 60 percent of his match fees for his antics after both his celebrations were considered as Level 1 offenses, breaching the IPL Code of Conduct.