Young KKR leggie Suyash Sharma has come under the scanner for a potentially deliberate attempt at bowling a wide to deny Yashasvi Jaiswal, who was batting on 98, a century in Match 56 of IPL 2023, between Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals.

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Jaiswal blazed his way to a record-breaking innings on Thursday (May 11) against the Kolkata Knight Riders, scoring the fastest IPL fifty in the process. The run-chase ended with a bit of controversy, however, with Suyash Sharma bowling what seemed to be a deliberate ball way down the leg side in order to prevent Jaiswal from reaching the three-figure mark.

Jaiswal was batting on 89 after the end of 12 overs and needed 11 more for his century. Rajasthan Royals, at that point, were just ten runs away from victory. Suyash came on to bowl the thirteenth over. Jaiswal reverse-swept him for a four off the third ball and then took a single off the fifth, leaving his skipper Sanju Samson to face the last ball of the over.

Rajasthan were just three runs away from victory, while Jaiswal still needed six more for his hundred. It was then that Suyash darted one way down the leg side. In ordinary circumstances, it would have been an easy ‘five wides’ for the batting side. However, Samson wanted to give his partner the opportunity to get to his hundred, and got in the way of the ball, fending it away and preventing it from going for extras.

Rajasthan would have almost certainly won the game with the wicketkeeper having very little chance to stop the wild delivery, had Samson not blocked the ball. It would have left Jaiswal stranded at the non-striker’s end, not out on 94. Luckily for him, he got a chance to finish the game in the next over. He didn’t manage to hit a six to get to his second hundred of the season but got a four to finish not out on 98.

The near-wide ball bowled by Suyash has sparked a lot of debate on social media about whether or not it was a deliberate attempt at preventing Jaiswal from getting a hundred,  and if it was, whether it is the right thing to do, or not.

Aakash Chopra, former India cricketer, felt that Suyash’s act was in “poor taste”. He said that had the same scenario played out with a Pakistani bowler and Virat Kohli, the bowler would have started “trending in minutes” on social media. “Trolling level hi alag hota tab. Typical Twitter behaviour IMO,” he said, which translates to “the trolling would have been on a different level in that case.”

Joy Bhattacharya, formerly associated with Kolkata Knight Riders, also voiced his opinion, saying what Suyash did was “not a good idea.” He said, “Suyash Sharma is a terrific young cricketer. But deliberately trying to fire a big leg side wide to deny Jaiswal a century was not a good idea. Indian fans still remember Suraj Randiv’s deliberate no ball to deny Sehwag a ton, sure Suyash doesn’t want to be remembered the same way.”

Rajasthan eventually won the match by nine wickets with almost seven overs to spare, and jumped into the fourth position on the points table. Kolkata, with this loss, slipped down to the seventh spot.

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