Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, July 31: West Indies have been fined 20% of their match fees for playing India in the first T20I in Trinidad on Friday with a sluggish overrate, ICC media said in a statement.
The West Indies were found to be one over short of the target when time allowances were taken into account, and Richie Richardson of the ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees assessed the sentence.
“In accordance with Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to minimum over-rate offences, players are fined 20 per cent of their match fee for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time,” stated the official release.
There was no need for a formal hearing because Captain Nicholas Pooran pleaded guilty to the offence and accepted the suggested punishment. The accusation was levelled by the on-field umpires Leslie Reifer and Nigel Duguid, third umpire Gregory Brathwaite, and fourth umpire Patrick Gustard.
Rohit Sharma, the captain of India, was in excellent form during the first T20I against the West Indies. He went on to score 64 runs off just 44 balls, hitting 7 fours and 2 sixes in the process. During this innings, Rohit passed Martin Guptill of New Zealand to take the top spot among men’s T20I run scorers.
In the first Twenty20 International between India and West Indies, the former batted first and scored 190/6 in 20 overs. Dinesh Karthik scored an undefeated 41 runs off just 19 balls with the help of 4 fours and 2 sixes, while Rohit scored a 64-run innings.
Arshdeep Singh, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Ravi Bishnoi all returned with the ball in hand and each took two wickets as India defeated West Indies by 68 runs in 20 overs.
