Cricket

Ye bhai ghar nhi sidha smasaan jaayega' - Fans react as spectator flashes placard that says 'Match nahi Russian dekhne aaya hu' in IPL 2023

A spectator at a match between GT and LSG holds a placard confessing he was there to see Russian cheerleaders. Here's how fans reacted.

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Daniel S
New Update
Spectator holding a placard and Hardik Pandya (Source - Twitter)

Spectator holding a placard and Hardik Pandya (Source - Twitter)

The 16th edition of the Indian Premier League has come to the halfway stage and many thrilling and nail-biting contests are already witnessed in the league, so far. The tournament is being contested in the home-away style for the first time in three years. The event has been played in fewer locations during the last three seasons as a result of the covid-19 pandemic, which caused travel restrictions for a few years.

Apart from the games not being played in the home-away format, there were also a few other restrictions. The crowd, including the cheerleaders, are back in action. Meanwhile, during the 30th of the tournament which was played between the defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), a spectator was seen holding a placard that says ‘Match nahi Russian dekhne aaya hu’. Since then, online videos and images of the spectator's brave, if rude, confession have gone global, sparking debate on Twitter over whether the exoticism of foreign performers was 'sexist' or just amusing.

Brilliant bowling performance by GT

Meanwhile, talking about the match, Gujarat, who chose to bat first, could only muster 135/6 in 20 overs thanks to an outstanding bowling performance from LSG. Before the wicketkeeper-batter, Wriddhiman Saha fell for 47(37, he and captain Hardik Pandya added 68 runs for the second wicket after Shubman Gill was out for zero. Prior to being bowled out by Stoinis in the last over, Hardik scored 66 (50).

If we look at the chase, Kyle Mayers and KL Rahul from LSG's opening combination provided them with a strong start. Prior to Mayers being dismissed for 24(19) by Rashid Khan, the pair had put up 55 runs for the first wicket. After joining the chase, Krunal Pandya and the LSG captain combined 51 runs for the second wicket before the latter was bowled out for 23 runs off of one ball. It was Nicholas Pooran.

With 12 required in the final six deliveries, discarded India pacer Mohit Sharma bowled an excellent over as Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) lost four wickets and managed just four runs in it. The clinical show by Mohit saw Lucknow reach 128/7 in 20 overs and fell seven run short of the 136-run target.

Here's how fans reacted:

Indian Premier League 2023 IPL