Abhishek Sharma charged one-fourth match fee, accumulates demerit point for misbehaviour

Abhishek Sharma, all-rounder, Sunrisers Hyderabad, has been fined 25 per cent of his match fees and has also accumulated one demerit point for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct during his team’s match against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata, on Thursday, April 02.

The 25-year-old admitted to the Level 1 offence under Article 2.3 and accepted the match referee Shakti Singh's sanction.

It is worth mentioning that the decision of the match referee remains final and binding for all Level 1 breaches of the Code of Conduct. As a result, no formal hearing in the matter was required.

Speaking of the match, SRH won the match quite convincingly, also becoming the first team to successfully defend a target in the ongoing season thus far. Setting a target of 227, the Ishan Kishan-led side restricted the hosts to a mere 161, thereby completing a win by 65 runs and getting off the mark on the IPL 2026 Points Table.

After the win, skipper Kishan credited the batters, especially the opening pair of Abhishek and Travis Head for the rollicking start in the powerplay overs that set the tempo for the Sunrisers. He also lauded his bowlers but also reflected on the areas of improvement for the franchise going forward in the nineteenth edition of the marquee T20 tournament.

"Not happy with the way I played but really happy the team was committed. Everyone was putting in the energy they put that I asked for. I don't think the pitch was that good to be honest. Travis Head and Abhishek played a beautiful knock out there. The powerplay made the game easy for us because every batter got time to take singles and get a feel of the pitch. Great effort from them and Klaassy at the end. Team effort," Kishan said at the post-match presentation.

"I think we are getting to know about the areas with each game. Fielding is an area. We can't give 20 runs in extras. We'll work on it as a team," he concluded.

SRH will play next on April 5 during their match against the Lucknow Super Giants. This game on Sunday will also be the first home game of the ongoing season for the 2016 champions, as the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium is scheduled to host the game.