Nita Ambani and Ishan Kishan [Source: @Cricket960215/X]
Sunrisers Hyderabad faced a rocky start in their clash against Mumbai Indians in Hyderabad, with opener Ishan Kishan falling cheaply yet again. After being asked to bat first, SRH lost both Travis Head and Kishan within the first three overs, leaving their innings in disarray.
Ishan Kishan, who has been enduring a lean patch after a sensational century earlier this season, departed for just 1 off 4 balls in strange fashion. The dismissal came in the third over, bowled by Deepak Chahar.
Ishan Kishan's Strange Walk Off
Deepak Chahar delivered an innocuous in-swinger down the leg, which Kishan attempted to flick but only managed a faint edge. Wicketkeeper Rickelton moved sharply to his right to collect it cleanly.
What followed left fans puzzled. Despite no immediate appeal, Kishan started walking back to the pavilion. Umpire Vinod Seshan briefly raised his finger but then seemed unsure. Only after Hardik Pandya at mid-off gestured did the umpire raise his finger again. Kishan, smiling wryly, walked off and even received a pat from Pandya.
However, replays added more controversy to the dismissal. UltraEdge showed no spike as the ball passed the bat, sparking social media chatter and fueling wild theories, with fans accusing Kishan of "match-fixing" and questioning why he walked without an official appeal.
Let's see how netizens reacted to ishan Kishan's honesty!
"MI ne umpires kharidne shuru kardiye 😭. Ishan Kishan bhi bik gya💔"
"Contract cancel kar bc Ishan kishan ka, match fixing se paise kama lega."
"Match fixing at its peak. Well done Ishan Kishan"
"MI management to Ishan Kishan"
"Ishan kishan fraudster playing for mumbai indians"
"This is the second time that Ishan Kishan has walked off after allegedly edging the ball down the leg side. In the first match, I dont think snico was shown after he was given out and did not review. Against MI, he did not even edge and walked off. That is unreal. UNREAL"
"Ishan Kishan has been very loyal to Mumbai Indians, he walked off without even edging behind"
Kishan Currently Not At His Best
Notably, this was Ishan Kishan’s seventh single-digit score in his last eight T20 innings. Since his 106-run blitz against Rajasthan Royals on March 23, the left-hander has managed just 33 runs in the last seven innings — scores of 0, 2, 2, 17, 9, 2, and 1 — at an average of 23.17 and strike rate of 163.53 this season.
SRH Need A Turnaround
At the time of writing, SRH were tottering at 13/2 after 3.2 overs, with Abhishek Sharma and Nitish Kumar Reddy at the crease. With Mumbai’s bowlers on top, Sunrisers will need a major recovery to post a competitive total.