Slow over rates cost Sourav, Inzamam
Reuters, Karachi
Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly and Pakistan captain Inzamamul Haq have been fined 20 per cent of their match fees for slow over rates in the first one-day international.India scraped a five-run victory in Saturday's extraordinary match with Pakistan putting up one of the best chases ever to score 344 for eight in reply to the visitors' mammoth 349 for seven from 50 overs. The rest of the players were fined 10 per cent of their match earnings after both teams fell two overs short at the end of the stipulated time, match referee Ranjan Madugalle announced on Sunday. Ganguly had criticised the International Cricket Council's (ICC) rule governing slow over rates which states that the team batting second is fined but does not have to play fewer overs. "I didn't know about the new rule," Ganguly said on Saturday. "It's of no help to the side fielding second. The old one was okay where a team with a slow over rate in the first innings was docked overs when it batted." Under the rule, which came into force in April 2003, if the overs shortfall is more than two the captain could face harsher fines and a possible suspension.
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