Lucknow Super Giants spinner Digvesh Singh Rathi was find and handed demerit point for violating the IPL Code of Conduct during the match against Punjab Kings at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow on Tuesday. Rathi was fined 25% of his match fees and given one demerit point for his over-the-top notebook celebration after dismissing PBKS batter Priyansh Arya.
A statement from the BCCI said, “Digvesh Singh Rathi, bowler for Lucknow Super Giants, has been fined 25% of his match fees and has also received one demerit point for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct during his team’s match against Punjab Kings at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow on Tuesday.”
Digvesh admitted to the Level 1 offence under Article 2.5 and accepted the match referee’s decision, which is final and binding in cases of Level 1 breaches.
Digvesh Rathi performs notebook celebration
The incident occurred on the second last ball of the third over during Punjab Kings’ chase. Digvesh bowled a short and wide delivery to Arya, who tried to pull the ball but top-edged it. Shardul Thakur, running from mid-on, took a sharp catch. As Arya made his way back to the pavilion after scoring 8 runs off 9 balls, Digvesh, who had previously played alongside Arya in the Delhi T20 League, celebrated by pretending to write in an imaginary notebook.
The umpires noticed the celebration and had a word with Digvesh about it. The celebration reminded fans of West Indies fast bowler Kesrick Williams, who had made a similar notebook gesture famous after dismissing opposition batters, including India’s Virat Kohli in 2019.
LSG succemb to defeat despite Digvesh’s brilliant performance
Despite the controversy, Digvesh was one of the few bright spots for LSG in an otherwise disappointing bowling performance. He took two wickets for 30 runs in his four overs, while none of the other LSG bowlers made an impact. PBKS easily chased down the target of 173 runs in just 16.2 overs, thanks to fiery half-centuries from opener Prabhsimran Singh (69 off 34 balls) and captain Shreyas Iyer (52* off 30 balls).
The win propelled PBKS to second place in the IPL 2025 points table, with PBKS, RCB, and DC all tied with four points after winning their first two matches.
