Aayush Mhatre Chaos Screening Bat (Screengrab)
New Delhi: A slightly strange and funny moment happened during the IPL 2026 match between Chennai Super Kings and Punjab Kings when young batsman Aayush Mhatre came in to bat at number three. What should have been a routine start quickly turned into chaos, even before he faced a single ball on Friday.As part of standard procedure, the umpire checked Mhatre’s bat using a scale. Surprisingly, the bat did not pass by. A replacement bat was brought in, but that also failed.
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Then a third racket came, and it didn’t work either. At this point, Mhatre looked completely disoriented at the sight of the crease, while the Chibok crowd watched in disbelief as the delay continued.When things couldn’t get any weirder, the referee recognized the mistake, and the meter was used upside down throughout.
Once it was turned in the correct direction, the original Mhatre putter passed the test immediately without any problem. What followed was a mixture of laughter and disbelief, as all the previous confusion turned out to be unnecessary.In the end, nothing really changed. Mhatre continued to bat with the same bat he had originally taken out, and there was no longer any need for substitutions. The incident had no impact on the match itself, but it quickly became one of the most talked about moments of the day.It also highlighted how a simple mistake in a high-pressure game can create major confusion. In a tournament already full of surprises, this extraordinary episode added another memorable moment to IPL 2026.