The opening encounter in Indian Premier League 2022 proved to be a bit of a double whammy for MI captain Rohit Sharma. Not only did he have to see his side lose following a late blast from Delhi Capitals’ Axar Patel, he was also fined INR 12 lakh for maintaining a slow over rate in the match.
MI lost their opening match of the 2022 season by four wickets in the final few overs. This was the 10th year in a row that they lost their opening match of an IPL season. Mumbai Indians bowlers looked like they were on top of the game for a long while defending the target of 178 set by the batters.
However, they failed to anticipate late pyrotechnics from Lalit Yadav and Axar Patel. The latter remained not out on 38 off only 17 deliveries, and his innings was laced with two boundaries and three sixes. Meanwhile, Lalit redeemed himself after an extremely conservative start to the innings and also hit the winning runs in the match.
Also read 👉 Lalit Yadav & Patel star as Delhi Capitals thrash Mumbai Indians
A tough day in the office for the five-time IPL champions didn’t get any better even after the game as their captain got fined INR 12 lakh for maintaining a slow over rate. Since this is the franchise’s first such offence, they escaped with a lighter punishment but will have to be more careful going forward in the tournament to not make the same mistakes.
“The Mumbai Indians have been fined after they maintained a slow over rate during their TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 match against Delhi Capitals at the Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai on March 27.
As it was the team’s first offence of the season under the IPL’s Code of Conduct relating to minimum over rate offences, Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma was fined Rs 12 lakhs,”
an official statement from IPL read.
When it comes to slow over rates, the Board of Control for Cricket in India has been very strict since IPL 2020. As per the rules, the minimum over-rate to be achieved in Premier League matches to complete an innings of 20 overs on time is 14.11 overs per hour.