India and West Indies have been fined by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for slow over-rates during the first T20I match in Tarouba, Trinidad and Tobago. The hosts, West Indies, secured a 1-0 lead in the five-match series by defeating India by four wickets. The ICC statement revealed that India was fined five percent of their match fee for falling one over short of the minimum over rate, while West Indies received a ten percent fine for being two overs behind.
The sanctions were imposed by Richie Richardson, the match referee, after considering time allowances. According to Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, players are fined five percent of their match fees for each over their team fails to bowl within the allotted time, with a maximum cap of 50 percent of the match fee.
India and West Indies have pleaded guilty and accepted the proposed sanctions 👇
— ICC (@ICC) August 4, 2023
The guilty players, Hardik Pandya and Rovman Powell, accepted the proposed sanctions, and a further hearing was unnecessary. The charges were initially leveled by on-field umpires Gregory Brathwaite and Patrick Gustard, third umpire Nigel Duguid, and fourth umpire Leslie Reifer.
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In the match, West Indies batted first and scored 149/6. Captain Rovman Powell top-scored with 48 runs off 32 balls, while Nicholas Pooran contributed 41 runs in 34 balls.
Former skipper Jason Holder was the standout bowler for West Indies, finishing with figures of 2/19 in four overs and winning the player of the match award. Holder’s crucial double-wicket maiden over in the 16th turned the tide in favor of the West Indies. In the Indian innings, Captain Hardik Pandya was dismissed on the first ball, followed by Sanju Samson being run out, leaving Axar Patel as the only recognized batsman in the death overs.
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Despite a valiant effort by Arshdeep Singh with back-to-back fours in the penultimate over, India fell short as their lower-order struggled to chase down the target. The fines serve as a reminder to teams to maintain a proper over-rate during matches to keep the game’s pace and momentum intact.
