West Indies fined 20% of match fee for sluggish over pace in first T20I

West Indies fined 20% of match fees for sluggish over-rate in opening T20I against India in Trinidad on Friday. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has fined the West Indies squad for sustaining a sluggish over-rate against India in the opening T20I encounter on Friday.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has removed 20% of the match fee after West Indies skipper Nicholas Pooran pleaded guilty to the charges and match referee Richie Richardson issued the fine.

The first T20I was easily won by India. India skipper Rohit Sharma was in excellent form in the opening T20I against the West Indies, scoring 64 runs off 44 balls with seven fours and two sixes. During this innings, Rohit beat Martin Guptill of New Zealand to become the highest run-scorer in men’s T20Is.

“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.

The Caribbean squad huffed and puffed their way to 122 for eight after being asked to chase down 191. Seven of their hitters reached double figures but failed to convert their starts. While Shamarh Brooks led the team in scoring with 20, Alzarri Joseph took two wickets.

India batted first and finished with a total of 190/6 in 20 overs. Rohit performed a 64-run innings, while Dinesh Karthik struck an undefeated 41-run knock off 19 balls, including four fours and two sixes. With the ball, Arshdeep Singh, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Ravi Bishnoi each took two wickets, and India won by 68 runs after bringing West Indies down to 122/8 in 20 overs.

India earlier won a three-match ODI series against the hosts and are clear favourites to do the same in T20Is. On Monday and Tuesday, both teams will play their second and third games at Basseterre, St Kitts and Nevis. The team will then fly to the United States for the last two matches, which will be played at Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Florida.