Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya in action© AFP
Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya and his team were handed hefty fines for maintaining a slow over rate, while their rival side Gujarat Titans’ head coach Ashish Nehra also copped a financial penalty and a demerit point for conduct “contrary to the spirit of the game” in their IPL clash. MI lost by three wickets via the Duckworth-Lewis (DLS) method to GT in a rain-affected match which concluded well past midnight at the Wankhede Stadium. “As it was his team’s second offence of the season under the IPL’s Code of Conduct relating to minimum over-rate offences, Pandya was fined Rs 24 lakh,” the IPL said in a statement. The rest of the MI team, including the impact player and concussion substitute, were each individually fined either Rs 6 lakh or 25 per cent of their respective match fees, whichever is lesser.
Nehra’s offence was not explicitly stated in the IPL press release but the former pacer was visibly agitated for a considerable time during the match which had multiple rain stoppages. He was also seen engaged in animated discussions with on-field umpires.
“Ashish Nehra, Head Coach, Gujarat Titans, has been fined 25 per cent of his match fees and has also accumulated one demerit point for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct,” the IPL stated.
“He admitted to the Level 1 offence under Article 2.20 – which pertains to the conduct that is contrary to the spirit of the game – and accepted the match referee’s sanction,” it added.
For Level 1 breaches of the Code of Conduct, the match referee’s decision is final and binding.
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