IPL 2018: 5 times things turned ugly in the tournament

As cricketing fans, we cherish the Indian Premier League. The towering sixes, the unbelievable catches and the breath-taking dismissals hold us in rapt attention as we cheer for our favourite teams with all our might.

However, there's a flip side to all the exciting cricketing action that often ends up attracting more attention than the game itself. When such high-octane clashes occur between world-class players, where everybody takes the field to give it their best shot, tempers are bound to flare.

Be it controversial dismissals, on-field scuffles or adoption of unethical means, the IPL has seen it all. Let's take a look at the 5 instances when an IPL game took an unwarranted and ugly turn.

#5 Virat Kohli-Gautam Gambhir clash

Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir were involved in an ugly on-field spat in IPL 2013

Although Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir have played for the Delhi side in the Ranji Trophy as well as in the Indian team together, their camaraderie took a hit when the two were involved in an ugly verbal spat during IPL 2013.

The incident occurred at the Chinnaswamy Stadium at the Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore game, after Kohli was dismissed. Kohli allegedly flung a remark at the KKR captain, Gambhir instead of walking off after being dismissed, to which the latter retaliated.

What ensued was a heated argument between the duo and the umpires had to intervene to break up the scuffle. The pair was subsequently reprimanded for breaching the Level 1 of IPL code of conduct.

#4 Harbhajan Singh vs S Sreesanth

The notorious 'Slapgate' incident in IPL 2008

Who could have imagined that an IPL match would end in a bowler bitterly crying after being slapped by his India teammate? The notorious 'Slapgate' incident in IPL 2008 grabbed eyeballs and landed Indian off-spinner, Harbhajan Singh in a major controversy.

Singh, who had been playing for the Mumbai Indians side, had allegedly found a comment made by Kings XI Punjab pacer, S Sreesanth unsavoury and in response, had slapped him on-field.

Visuals showed the tear-streaked face of Sreesanth at the end of the match, and the then KXIP captain, Yuvraj Singh went on to term the incident as "ugly". However, the duo sorted it out eventually when Singh apologised to Sreesanth in the dressing room after the conclusion of the match.

#3 Kieron Pollard throws his bat at Mitchell Starc

Kieron Pollard lost his temper and flung his bat at pacer, Mitchell Starc in IPL 2014

Things turned nasty in an encounter between the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Mumbai Indians in IPL 2014 when Kieron Pollard lost his temper and flung his bat at pacer, Mitchell Starc on the field.

Pollard, who was on strike, pulled away from facing the delivery owing to some distraction behind the bowler's arm. However, a fired-up Starc didn't break his run-up and followed through with his delivery, seemingly taking an aim at Pollard with the ball.

In response, the mighty Caribbean batsman hurled his bat towards the pacer in a grotesque confrontation. RCB skipper, Virat Kohli, along with the on-field umpires had to step in to diffuse the tension between the two.

#2 Spot-Fixing Scandal in IPL 2013

S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan were accused of spot-fixing

In what can be termed as the biggest scandal in the history of the IPL, three Rajasthan Royals bowlers, namely, S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan were arrested and subsequently, suspended on charges of spot-fixing after a match against the Mumbai franchise.

What followed was a tumble of dominoes as dirty secrets spilt out one after the other. An exhaustive investigation conducted by the Supreme Court-appointed Mudgal Committee found Gurunath Meiyappan, who was a top Chennai Super King official and the son-in-law of the-then BCCI president, N Srinivasan, guilty of being involved in fixing.

In 2015, RR and CSK were banned from the IPL for two years by the Lodha Committee in the aftermath of these events.

#1 The controversial dismissal of Yusuf Pathan

Yusuf Pathan was given out for obstructing the field

Yusuf Pathan's hard-hitting skills have made him a bankable player for the Kolkata Knight Riders in a quite a few seasons of the IPL. But in 2013, Pathan was dismissed on the uncommon and controversial grounds of 'Obstructing the Field'.

In a nail-biting encounter between the KKR and the Pune Warriors, Pathan was on the verge of stealing the game away from Pune when the incident occurred. While taking a quick single, the explosive batsman ended up kicking the ball away to prevent the bowler from getting to it.

This forced the umpires to declare him out and it cost KKR the match, as PWI won by 7 runs. This also made Pathan the first batsman in the history of T20 Cricket to be dismissed for obstructing the field.