IPL 2025: Narine, Nortje's bats fail gage test against PBKS
What's the story
In Match 31 of the IPL 2025 season between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Punjab Kings (PBKS), KKR players Sunil Narine and Anrich Nortje had their bats fail the gage test.
The incident took place at Mullanpur on Tuesday.
As per ESPNcricinfo, reserve umpire Saiyed Khalid inspected the bats outside the playing area before KKR's unsuccessful chase of PBKS' total score of 111.
Bat failure
Narine's bat fails gage test
During the inspection, Narine's bat didn't go through the gage. The incident happened when both Narine and Angkrish Raghuvanshi were present together for the check.
However, despite the setback, Narine scored five runs in his four-ball knock including one four. He was dismissed by Marco Jansen in the 1st over.
He had earlier bowled impressively with figures of 2/14 in three overs.
Second failure
Nortje's bat also fails the test
Nortje, who walked out to bat as KKR's last man, also encountered a similar problem.
The incident occurred at the beginning of the 16th over of KKR's innings.
His bat didn't pass the test conducted by on-field umpires Mohit Krishnadas and Saidharshan Kumar, television commentators said.
A replacement bat was given by substitute Rahmanullah Gurbaz after a brief pause in play, but it passed only after Andre Russell was bowled out immediately after.
Rules of play
A look at the rules
This was Nortje's first IPL 2025 match after returning from a back injury from SA20. He registered figures of 1/23 in his three overs.
Earlier, bat checks were conducted inside the dressing room. However, in recent matches, these checks have been done on the field itself as per new regulations.
Under these rules, specific measurements for different parts of the bat are required to ensure fair play and uniformity across all teams participating in IPL 2025.
Summary
PBKS beat KKR, defend lowest-ever total (111)
PBKS had a tough day with the bat, managing just 111 runs in 15.3 overs. Prabhsimran Singh (30 off 15) and Priyansh Arya (22) showed fluency with the bat. Shashank Singh did well with a vital 18-run knock.
For KKR, Varun Chakaravarthy (4-0-21-2) and Narine (3-0-14-2) were brilliant, keeping PBKS's innings in check.
Harshit Rana took a three-fer. Despite their low total, PBKS defended the same successfully against KKR's strong batting lineup.