Indian team fined 60 per cent of match fees for slow over rate

Indian players after winning the first ODI cricket match against New Zealand.Pic/PTI

The Indian team has been fined 60 per cent of its match fee for maintaining a slow over-rate against New Zealand in the first ODI in Hyderabad.

Javagal Srinath of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees imposed the sanction after India were ruled to be three overs short of the target after time allowances were taken into consideration for Wednesday's series opener.

"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," the ICC said in a statement.

India captain Rohit Sharma pleaded guilty to the offence and accepted the proposed sanction, so there was no need for a formal hearing.

On-field umpires Anil Chaudhary and Nitin Menon, third umpire K N Ananthapadmanabhan and fourth umpire Jayaraman Madanagopal levelled the charge.

Riding on Shubman Gill's magnificent double hundred, India emerged winners by 12 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Chasing an imposing target of 350, New Zealand were bowled out for 337 in 49.2 overs in the high-scoring game.

Also read: Why did Rohit do it?

Bracewell, who hit 12 fours and ten sixes in his 78-ball knock, took charge of the chase and added 162 off just 102 balls for the seventh wicket with Mitchell Santner, who made 57 off 45 balls.

India were put into massive pressure and it needed wickets from local lad Mohammed Siraj, who took 4/46, apart from Hardik Pandya and Shardul Thakur taking out a wicket each at the end to give the hosts' 1-0 lead in three-match series.

Bracewell slashed, pulled and swept well against spinners while Santner gained momentum by dispatching anything overpitched and short to the boundary rope off Hardik and Washington Sundar. Shardul was brought back in the 37th over and Bracewell hammered over extra cover for four, before getting his fifty with a pull over mid-wicket for six.

He continued to be severe on Shardul and Kuldeep Yadav, playing with the field and getting his boundaries with ease, with Santner joining in the fun too. Bracewell then attacked Washington, hitting him for sixes over long-off and wide long-on as New Zealand needed 103 off the last ten overs.

With inputs from agencies