SA vs IND: India Penalised Valuable World Test Championship Points For Slow Over-Rate In Boxing Day Test

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has penalized India for sustaining a slow over-rate during the Boxing Day Test against South Africa at the Supersport Park in Centurion. As a result, India has lost two World Test Championship points and each player has been fined 10% of their match fees.

Chris Broad of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees imposed the fine after India was found to be two overs short of the objective. India captain Rohit Sharma accepted the proposed sanction and pled guilty to the offense. There was no need for a formal hearing regarding the matter.

As per Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, players are fined 5% of their match fee for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time.

🚨 JUST IN: India have been penalised for slow over rate during the first #WTC25 Test against South Africa.

Details ⬇️https://t.co/dSqixki92Z

— ICC (@ICC) December 29, 2023

“Rohit Sharma’s side has been docked two crucial ICC World Test Championship points in the opening Test against South Africa for bowling two overs short and has also been fined 10% of their match fee,” ICC said in a release.

Coming into Day 3, The Proteas resumed their first innings with Dean Elgar unbeaten on 140 and Marco Jansen on 3. They scored 408 runs, securing a massive 163-run lead. The Indian seamers, including Mohammed Siraj (2/91) and Shardul Thakur (1/101), struggled to find success, while Prasidh Krishna failed to inspire confidence with figures of 1/93 in 20 overs.

In the second innings, the Indian batters needed to put up a fight for the team after South Africa took a 163-run lead by scoring 408 runs in the first innings. However, the Indian batting lineup once again let down the team by being bundled out for just 131 runs without much resistance in the game.

The only Indian batter who put up a fight in the second innings was Virat Kohli who scored 72 runs, with the remaining batters failing to reach single digits and KL Rahul batted brilliantly to help the men in blue a decent total in 1st innings.

In all three departments, the Proteas outperformed the formidable Indian side in the 1st test. Their fast bowlers bowled beautifully exploring over-rate the Centurion conditions, and their batting lineup played nicely on a pitch that did not allow for easy runs despite the absence of their skipper Temba Bavuma.

After their thrashing victory over the mighty Indian team, South Africa now sits atop the World Test Championship points table with a score of 12 and a percentage point total (PCT) of 100. Meanwhile, India has fallen to fifth place with 16 points, but their PCT has decreased to 44.44.