Rishabh Pant, DC team penalised for slow over rate against KKR

After being punished with a fine of INR 12 Lakhs for slow over rate against Chennai Super Kings on March 31, Delhi Capital’s skipper Rishabh Pant and his entire playing XI (along with the impact player) have been fined by the BCCI for being guilty of repeating the same offence against the Kolkata Knight Riders four days later. 

While Pant has been fined a hefty INR 24 Lakhs, the rest of the players who took the field for Delhi were fined INR 6 Lakhs or 25% of their match fees (whichever is lesser). 

What would have hurt the Capitals more was the fact that in both these games, they had to call back one fielder from the outfield to the infield as a penalty for their slow over rate. Against CSK, they managed to come out unscathed as their superior death bowling saw them home despite MS Dhoni’s onslaught during the climax of the game. 

However, against the KKR, they gave away 33 runs in the last two overs, and KKR reached the second-highest total in IPL history (272/7). Head coach Ricky Ponting was expectantly not pleased with such mistakes happening on a regular basis in a professional setup. 

“We can't afford to do that. No other team is doing that. We have been two overs down two games in a row, which is more than 10 minutes down going into the last couple of overs of bowling innings. It probably didn't cost us today because they'd have gotten 250 anyway, but going forward in the tournament, it will definitely cost us something if we can't fix it,” Ponting said. 

DC will play their next game against the Mumbai Indians on April 7.