The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has imposed strict penalties on Lucknow Super Giants bowler Digvesh Singh Rathi for violating the IPL Code of Conduct during the match against Punjab Kings at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow on Tuesday. He has been fined 25 percent of his match fees and received one demerit point due to his exuberant celebration with a notebook after dismissing young PBKS batsman Priyansh Arya.

In a statement following the LSG vs PBKS match, the BCCI noted, "Digvesh Singh, bowler for Lucknow Super Giants, has been fined 25 percent 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 Singh Rathi acknowledged his Level 1 offense under Article 2.5 and accepted the match referee's decision, which is conclusive and binding for Level 1 violations.

What was the nature of Digvesh Singh's offense? 

The incident occurred on the penultimate ball of the third over during the PBKS chase. Digvesh bowled a short and wide delivery to Arya, who attempted a pull shot with minimal foot movement, resulting in a top edge. Shardul Thakur sprinted in from mid-on to take a sharp catch.

As Arya made his way back to the pavilion after scoring 8 runs off 9 balls, his teammate Digvesh from the Delhi T20 League approached him, mimicking the act of writing his name in an imaginary notebook. The umpires observed this behavior and chose to address Digvesh about it. This celebration instantly evoked memories among fans and analysts of West Indies fast bowler Kesrick Williams, who popularized a similar gesture after taking wickets.

Williams notably performed the notebook celebration after dismissing former India captain Virat Kohli during a bilateral series in 2019, only to be outperformed by Kohli in their subsequent encounter.

Legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar criticized Digvesh's celebration. "I can appreciate such a celebration if the wicket follows a boundary or a six on the previous ball. As a bowler, you have six deliveries. If you bowl five dot balls and take a wicket on the sixth, that kind of celebration is not justifiable. These gestures imply that you did not anticipate taking a wicket, and now that you have, it seems like you're trying to show off," he remarked during the commentary.

In an otherwise lackluster performance from the LSG bowlers, Digvesh stood out as a bright spot. The leg spinner claimed two wickets for 30 runs in his four overs, while the rest of the LSG bowling lineup failed to make an impact. PBKS successfully chased down the 173-run target in just 16.2 overs, thanks to explosive half-centuries from opener Prabhsimran Singh (69 runs off 34 balls) and captain Shreyas Iyer (52 not out off 30 balls).

This victory propelled PBKS to the second position in the IPL 2025 points table. Currently, PBKS, RCB, and DC are all tied with four points each after winning their first two matches.

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