India incurred a penalty from on-field umpire Joel Wilson when R Ashwin strayed onto the protected area of the pitch in Rajkot. This marked the second occasion, following Ravindra Jadeja's earlier warning for the same offence on Thursday.
England will commence their first innings in the 3rd Test against India at 5 for 0 as the home team faced a 5-run penalty on Friday. This decision came after on-field umpires observed two instances of players running on the 'protected area' of the pitch. Umpire Joel Wilson officially imposed the 5 penalty runs during the first session on Day 2, highlighting the incident involving R Ashwin running on the protected area while batting alongside debutant wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel.
The occurrence transpired during the 102nd over of the Indian innings as R Ashwin played a delivery from Rehan Ahmed to the off-side and initiated a single. Ashwin took a few steps on the protected area of the pitch before veering away from it. Umpire Joel Wilson, positioned at the bowler's end, promptly observed Ashwin's actions and signalled 5 penalty runs. These runs were credited to the fielding side, namely England.
What Led to India Incurring a 5-Run Penalty?
Significantly, this marked the second instance of a warning to an Indian batter for running on the protected area of the pitch. Ravindra Jadeja, who scored a century on Thursday, had previously received a warning on Day 2 of the 3rd Test for running on the protected area.
What do Cricket Rules Entail?
Running on the protected area of the pitch is considered 'unfair play’, and the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) Laws outline the following regulations:
41.14.1: Deliberate or avoidable damage to the pitch is deemed unfair. If the striker enters the protected area while playing or playing at the ball, they must promptly move away. A batter will be considered causing avoidable damage if either umpire believes their presence on the pitch lacks reasonable cause.
41.14.2: In the first instance of deliberate or avoidable damage to the pitch, the umpire witnessing the contravention shall, when the ball is dead, notify the other umpire. The umpire at the bowler's end will then caution both batters that the practice is unfair, emphasising it as a first and final warning applicable throughout the innings. Each incoming batter, the captain of the fielding side, and, at the earliest opportunity, the captain of the batting side will be informed of the incident.
41.14.3: In case of any subsequent occurrence of deliberate or avoidable damage to the pitch by any batter in that innings, the umpire witnessing the contravention shall, when the ball is dead, report the incident to the other umpire.
The umpire at the bowler's end will negate all runs scored by the batting side, send any not-out batter back to their initial end, signal No Ball or Wide to the scorers if relevant, or impose a penalty of 5 runs in favour of the fielding side.
On the second day of the match, India faced early setbacks, losing Ravindra Jadeja and nightwatchman Kuldeep Yadav to James Anderson and Mark Wood. However, R Ashwin, in partnership with wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel, managed to thwart England's advances, creating a 40-plus partnership that propelled the team's total beyond 370 before the Lunch break on Day 2.
In the preceding day's play, India overcame a challenging situation at 33 for 3, ultimately reaching a total of 326 for 5. This recovery was attributed to centuries by captain Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja, along with a quick 62 runs from debutant Sarfaraz Khan.