Hyderabad captain Ambati Rayudu protests, delays match; BCCI says it will take 'appropriate action'

It was a thrilling last-ball finish to the game in Visakhapatnam today (January 11) but was overshadowed by unwanted protest and arguments by one team. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has said it will take "appropriate action" after match referee's report.

Karnataka edged Hyderabad by two runs in a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Twenty20 match at Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium.

Hyderabad needed 24 off 12 balls. The equation came down to eight in the final over bowled by Stuart Binny.

On the last ball, Hyderabad needed three and wicketkeeper CM Gautam produced a stunning one-handed diving catch to dismiss Mohammed Siraj triggering celebrations for Karnataka.

Hyderabad felt they were robbed of two runs, the same margin which they lost by. Their captain Ambati Rayudu and team-mates protested on the ground delaying the start of the next game between Andhra and Kerala.

Due to Hyderabad players' protest eating into the match time, the second contest was reduced to 13 overs per side.

BCCI, in a tweet, later in the night, said, "The BCCI has taken cognizance of the events that unfolded during and after the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2018 match today between Hyderabad-Karnataka. An official report by the Match Referee is awaited, following which appropriate action as per BCCI's Code of Conduct will be taken."

The contention over two runs came when Karnataka's total was added with the same after the umpires failed to spot a Hyderabad player stepping onto the boundary rope.

A Karnataka  team official, who did not want to be named, confirmed to International Business Times, India that Hyderabad were informed that they would be chasing 206 and not 204.

"It was not right by Hyderabad. They were informed at the innings break that they would be chasing 206. Match referee rightly said we have won. This was not a tie. As soon as the match ended, we had to vacated the dressing room for the next game. We did the same, had lunch and left for our hotel," Karnataka team official said.

He also added that there was no argument between Karnataka and Hyderabad players over those runs. "Karnataka and Hyderabad players did not have any argument over those two runs. It was only between captain Rayudu and match officials," he said.

"Can you believe it. They have won by two runs. Those two runs were added before the innings started. Well done Vinay Kumar. You argued with the umpires and he got those two runs added to the total and rightly so," former cricketer Amol Muzumdar said on commentary after the final ball.

During the innings, it was given as two runs and later at the break, when Karnataka skipper R Vinay Kumar spoke and convinced the officials, it was added to the final tally.

It was on the fourth ball of the second over from Siraj when Karun Nair's shot was fielded in the deep by Mehdi Hasan. However, he touched the rope when he had ball in his hand. Umpires failed to see this but replays confirmed it and commentators called it. The match was live on Star Sports.

Later, Karnataka officials and captain spoke to umpires and the score was corrected. Hyderabad were informed before their run chase. But Rayudu unnecessarily turned up after the game to protest and argue with match referee and umpires. It was not in the spirit of the game.

Will the match referee Rajib Deb Burman take action against Rayudu and his players?

Update - Here is what Rayudu said after the match

According to Cricbuzz website, Rayudu said he was asking for a Super Over to be played.

"There was some confusion in the middle at the start of our innings. What I went and told the umpire was 'sir you cannot change the score, we are batting for 204 as our target'. That is exactly what I told him and he said 'we'll see it at the end, let the match start. The match was stopped for nine minutes, before the second innings. They had no business to stop the match once the target was declared. Then, what we said was we were playing for 204, and that was my exact words," a disappointed Rayudu said after the game.

"At the end, we went and asked to start the Super Over. That is exactly our point of contention. We never even thought of stopping the second match, that has got nothing to do with us. We were insisting that our match was not complete, we still have to play the Super Over. That is exactly why we went to the middle, we were actually going to warm up then," Rayudu was quoted as saying by the website.

Watch the match highlights here

Scores in brief

Karnataka 205/5 in 20 overs (Karun Nair 77, K Gowtham 57, Ravi Kiran 2/33) beat Hyderabad 203/9 in 20 overs (Akshath Reddy 70, Tanmay Agarwal 38, Bavanaka Sandeep 34, Stuart Binny 3/29).

Note: The story was updated with BCCI's reaction.