NEW DELHI:
The second day of the third Test between India and England, in Rajkot, saw Ravichandran Ashwin (25) and Dhruv Jurel (31) slugging it out in the middle, steering India to 388/7 at lunch.
Despite the duo taking India slowly to a position of strength in the Test, there was a minor setback in the form of a five-run penalty, because Ashwin ran on to the protected area of the pitch while batting in the first session, in the 102nd over.
What’s the protected area of the pitch
According to the cricketing laws, the protected area is “that area of the pitch contained within a rectangle bounded at each end by imaginary lines parallel to the popping creases and 5 ft/1.52 m in front of each, and on the sides by imaginary lines, one each side of the imaginary line joining the centres of the two middle stumps, each parallel to it and 1 ft/30.48 cm from it”.
What the law says about the penalty
According to law 41.14: “It is unfair to cause deliberate or avoidable damage to the pitch. If the striker enters the protected area in playing or playing at the ball, he/she must move from it immediately thereafter. A batter will be deemed to be causing avoidable damage if either umpire considers that his/her presence on the pitch is without reasonable cause.
“If either batter causes deliberate or avoidable damage to the pitch, other than as in 41.15, at the first instance the umpire seeing the contravention shall, when the ball is dead, inform the other umpire of the occurrence.
The bowler’s end umpire shall then warn both batters that the practice is unfair and indicate that this is a first and final warning. This warning shall apply throughout the innings. The umpire shall so inform each incoming batter, inform the captain of the fielding side and, as soon as practicable, the captain of the batting side of what has occurred.
“If there is any further instance of deliberate or avoidable damage to the pitch by any batter in that innings, the umpire seeing the contravention shall, when the ball is dead, inform the other umpire of the occurrence.
“The bowler’s end umpire shall disallow all runs to the batting side, return any not out batter to his/her original end, signal no-ball or wide to the scorers if applicable, and award 5 penalty runs to the fielding side.”
Resuming at 326/5, India lost both overnight batters Kuldeep Yadav (4) and Jadeja (112) in the first session today. Ashwin and Jurel then put on a vital 57-run stand for the eighth wicket. The five-Test series is tied at 1-1, with England winning the first match in Hyderabad and India winning in Visakhapatnam.
