IND vs ENG 2022 | India down to fourth in WTC after penalty for slow over-rate

India’s misery mounted further following the loss in the Edgbaston Test that concluded on Tuesday, owing to a penalty for slow over rate. The team was deemed to be two overs short of the required target, after taking into consideration time allowances.

The charge was levied by umpires Richard Kettleborough and Aleem Dar, along with third umpire Marais Erasmus and fourth umpire Alex Wharf. Upon investigation, the match referee David Boon judged the Men in Blue to be guilty and imposed the required sanctions on the visitors. 

Skipper Jasprit Bumrah pleaded guilty to the offense, eliminating the need for a hearing. Consequently, all the players in the team were fined 40% of their match fees, while the team was docked two points in the World Test Championship standings.

"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 percent of their match fee for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time," the ICC said in a statement.

"In addition, as per Article 16.11.2 of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) playing conditions, a side is penalised one point for each over she Consequently, two WTC points have been deducted from India's points total."

This was India’s fifth penalty point in the ongoing season, second most after England’s 12. As a result, they have now slipped to the fourth position in the table.

Each win in the Championship earns a team 12 points, while a draw is worth four points. Having six wins and two draws to their name, India have so far earned 80 points, but the penalties have taken their tally down to 75. The percentage of total points possible hence reads 52.08%, enabling Pakistan to leapfrog them with a percentage of 52.38%.

The Men in Blue have six more Tests to play in the ongoing cycle, four of which are against Australia at home followed by two Tests in Bangladesh. Winning all the games will see India’s score rise to 68.05%. Thus, the team has to rely on South Africa and Pakistan to drop points in order to make it into the top two of the standings and earn another shot at the World Test Championship.