Rathi dismisses idol Narine with his first ball

It's not often that a player comes up against his idol in a match and then gets the better of him. First ball that too. Stuff of dreams, eh?

Lucknow Super Giants' (LSG) legspinner Digvesh Rathi did just that to his idol Sunil Narine during the match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Eden Gardens.

Rathi's run-up is similar to that of Narine's before he gets into his action. In the post-match presentation after LSG's previous game against Mumbai Indians, Rathi said he knew he had found his calling after watching Narine bowl.

"I am really enjoying it. My bowling is such that I like to take wickets," he said. "I saw Sunil Narine bowl and since then I have loved bowling. I want to make my mindset more attacking like Sunil Narine. Like he handles pressure for the team and still remains calm. I want to be the same."

LSG had also posted a video on social media right before the game against KKR showing Rathi shyly meeting Narine, with Nicholas Pooran and Rishabh Pant pulling his leg. And then, in the match, he got rid of his idol with a lovely tossed-up legbreak that Narine slashed straight to wide long-off.

Rathi, however, is pushing the line with the IPL authorities. He has already been fined twice in two games for his "writing in the notebook" celebration. He was fined 25% of his match fee and was given a demerit point for his send-off after dismissing Priyansh Arya against Punjab Kings, and copped a 50% fine plus was given two demerit points for a similar celebration of Naman Dhir's wicket against Mumbai Indians.

When he dismissed Narine, however, Rathi brought out the imaginary pen but this time scribbled on the turf. It remains to be seen whether he gets penalised again or not.