Jonty Rhodes, the fielding coach for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), has accused Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) fans of throwing “nuts and bolts” at LSG player Prerak Mankad during an IPL 2023 match. The incident happened after Hyderabad were controversially denied a free hit when Lucknow reviewed an on-field call by the square-leg umpire. The third umpire overturned the decision, despite the ball appearing to reach the crease above the batter’s waist, leading to some unruly behaviour from the crowd. The match had to be stopped for a while as well.

Rhodes confirmed the incident on his Twitter account, saying, “Not at the dugout, but at the players. They hit Prerak Mankad on the head while he was fielding at long on. #noton.” Lucknow went on to win the match, ending their three-game winless streak and moving to fourth place in the points table with 13 points. Hyderabad’s Playoffs hopes now look uncertain.