Kieron Pollard, Mitchell Starc in ugly spat

MUMBAI: Skipper Rohit Sharma and all-rounder Kieron Pollard's brilliant 97-run partnership at the Wankhede on Tuesday night was completely overshadowed and marred by the ugliest on-field spat in IPL 7 so far.
In the 17th over of the MI innings, RCB seamer Mitchell Starc sledged Pollard after the batsman missed hooking his bouncer. The West Indian returned the compliment by gesturing the Aussie to return to his bowling mark.
Next ball, Pollard 'withdrew' to the legside before Starc was about to deliver, but to his astonishment, the bowler went on to fire the ball towards him. The fuming all-rounder then almost flung his bat at the bowler in disgust.
Both were subsequently involved in a heated exchange of words, before the umpires stepped in to prevent a situation wherein perhaps the players may even have come to blows.
With the entire stadium booing Starc, Pollard had a heated debate with opposition skipper Virat Kohli too, even as the latter stepped in with the intention of defusing the situation.
Later, Pollard, who complained about Starc's action to the umpires, was pacified by West Indian senior teammate Chris Gayle. "You can't throw your bat at anyone," Starc said later.
The incident, which may have become more ugly had Pollard's bat not slipped while it was on its way towards Starc, is likely to be viewed seriously by the tournament organisers. Pollard's conduct should invite serious action, while Starc is unlikely to escape censure too.
The RCB players, meanwhile, deserve flak for giving batsmen unnecessary send-offs after dismissing them. The way young leggie Yuzvendra Chahal went after Corey Anderson after getting him out, made for unpleasant viewing.