Bangalore Royal Challengers skipper Kevin Pietersen has been warned by the Indian Premier League for showing dissent over an umpiring decision during his side's humiliating 92-run loss at the hands of Chennai Super Kings on Monday.
Pietersen received an official warning from the IPL for objecting his first-ball leg before wicket dismissal against Sri Lanka veteran spinner Muttiah Muralitharan.
Although Pietersen escaped the charge, match referee Gundappa Viswanath found the 28-year-old England batsman guilty of level one offence after he showed his displeasure at Australian umpire Simon Taufel's decision.
Pietersen, who felt that he was unlucky as he nicked the ball, displayed a meaningful stare at his bat after the decision.
"I think I got a little nick on it, but such is life," Pietersen was quoted as saying by The Guardian.
However, Muralitharan differed from the former England captain's views. "I didn't think he edged it and nor did Mahendra Singh Dhoni. That's why we appealed. It's up to the umpire to make the decision."
Pietersen, thus, became the first player in the second edition of the IPL to have been found at the wrong side of the MCC's Spirit of Cricket doctrine.