It is no surprise that the Australian tried to sledge the Trinidadian but had not expected a flying bat in return

The Indian Premier League (2008) has since witnessed multiple ugly spats between players, including the ‘Slapgate’ incident and Gambhir-Kohli’s dramatics. However, if any fight came close to becoming physical, it was the altercation between Mitchell Starc and Kieron Pollard, which took place on this day in 2014.

The ugliness in the 17th over

Batting first, the Mumbai Indians were putting on a decent show with the bat, thanks to a classic Rohit Sharma act, who scored 59 runs in 35 balls and remained not out. On the other end, it was Kieron Pollard who was toying with the bowlers, and therefore Mitchell Starc took it upon himself to remove the Trinidadian.

Not stereotyping, but Starc being an Australian felt sledging was the way to go, and therefore, after throwing a bouncer at Pollard, he murmured certain things to the Mumbai Indians pinch-hitter in the 17th over.

Mitchell Starc bowled a sharp bouncer, words were exchanged, and Kieron Pollard told him to focus on bowling. Next ball turned chaotic as Pollard stepped away, Starc still delivered the ball, and tempers flared.

One of the most heated IPL moments 🔥🥵 pic.twitter.com/jIJjmKAzjT

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In the next ball, during Starc’s run-up, Pollard decided to move away from the crease, but Starc simply did not care and threw the ball at Pollard. To be honest, the throw was more about hitting Pollard than hitting the wickets. An angry Pollard advanced menacingly towards Starc and threw his bat, which luckily did not hit Starc but landed near his feet.

Players, including Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli, met with the on-field umpires on the pitch to defuse the situation.

The karmic balance

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Towards the end of Mumbai’s innings, Pollard was run out by Starc, but the Indians managed to put up a score of 187 runs on the board. On the other hand, during Bengaluru’s chase in the 16.3 overs, Starc was caught out by Pollard, leading to a Karmic balance. The game ended with Bengaluru losing by 19 runs, and Starc and Pollard were fined 75% and 50% of their match fees, respectively, for committing level 2 offences under the IPL's code of conduct.

Shastri’s stern statement

Ravi Shastri, a member of the IPL governing council, was highly agitated by how both players behaved on the pitch. “They should be given a fine and then a stern warning stating that (if) once more, then it could be double the penalty and even a match ban,” Shastri had told ESPNcricinfo.

Sledging and verbal fights are part of every sport, and therefore, the IPL will produce more, but the altercation between Pollard and Starc will be remembered and rank at the top for its ugliness.