Ind vs Aus: Indian team fined for slow over-rate in 1st ODI
Nov 28, 2020
Sydney [Australia], November 28 : India players have been fined 20 per cent of their match fee for maintaining a slow over-rate against Australia in the first ODI in Sydney on Friday, the ICC said in a release.
Match referee David Boon imposed the sanction after Virat Kohli's side was ruled to be one over short of the target after time allowances were taken into consideration.
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.
Kohli pleaded guilty to the offence and accepted the proposed sanction, so there was no need for a formal hearing. On-field umpires Rod Tucker and Sam Nogajski, TV umpire Paul Reiffel and fourth umpire Gerard Abood leveled the charge.
An all-round performance from Australia saw them register a 66-run win over India in the opening ODI. If skipper Aaron Finch (114) and Steve Smith (105) stole the show with the bat, it was leg-spinner Adam Zampa who joined Josh Hazlewood with the ball to derail the Indian batting line-up. While Zampa finished with figures of 4/54 from his 10, Hazlewood picked three from his 10 overs and gave away 55 runs.
Chasing a monumental target of 375, the visitors were never really in the game except for a brief stage when opener Shikhar Dhawan (74) and Hardik Pandya (90) put on 128 runs for the fifth wicket.
Kohli made no excuses and said the team had enough time to prepare for the game. "Got enough time to prepare. Don't think there can be any excuses. Probably the first long game we've played in a while, been playing T20 cricket. Probably that's something that can have an effect," he said at the end of the game.
The Indian fielding left a lot to be desired and that came as a surprise because India has in recent times done well on the field. Kohli said the team body language was not great after the first 25 overs. "(Team) Body language wasn't great after around 25 overs. If you don't take your chances against a top-quality opposition they'll make you pay," he pointed.
