Watch as Sourav Ganguly and Ricky Ponting get into a heated altercation with the umpire as DC starts to pursue RR

The Delhi Capitals, led by the back-to-back Rishabh Pant, suffered yet another setback yesterday night, this time against the Rajasthan Royals. It was just more heartache.

It seemed as if the escalating emotions from the fixture had also affected the coaches, as Sourav Ganguly and Ricky Ponting of DC were both engulfed in the heat of the moment.

Early in DC’s innings, Ponting and Ganguly got into a heated argument with the fourth umpire, causing emotions to rise.

The incident happened two balls into Boult’s first over, just after the Delhi Capitals started their chase.

To cut a long tale short, there was a little miscommunication over how many international players really played for RR.

In an attempt to bolster their bowling lineup, the Royals substituted Nandre Burger for Shimron Hetmeyer as their Impact Player at the start of the second inning.

It’s crucial to remember that the Royals only had three foreign players on the field despite the substitution.

However, after two balls, the Royals decided to replace Shubham Dubey with Rovman Powell, adding another foreign player to their roster. And DC coach Ricky Ponting reacted angrily to this, arguing with the referees about how RR could suddenly field four players.

Then, the fourth umpire approached Ponting with a piece of paper to present his argument. Since RR only fielded three foreign players, they were able to make an Impact Sub as their fourth foreign player while still adhering to the regulations.

Rule 1.2.5 on foreign playing conditions specifies that no club may have more than four international players on its roster. Rule 1.2.6, however, stipulates that an overseas player may only participate as a replacement for a domestic player if all four players have been designated in the starting lineup. The caveat is that any club may substitute an overseas player as their Impact Player for any player on the pitch if they play with less than four foreign players in their starting lineup.

According to the official rule, overseas players are only permitted to enter the field of play as substitute fielders to the extent that doing so does not increase the number of overseas players representing that team on the field to more than four if the team names fewer than four overseas players in its starting XI.

Therefore, the outbursts of wrath that Ponting and Ganguly displayed were only the consequence of miscommunication and tensions getting the best of them in the heat of the moment.