India slapped with 5 penalty runs after Ashwin, Jadeja blunders
As he ran for the single and also returned to the crease, Ashwin was guilty of breaching the 'protected area' of the pitch. He was immediately pulled up by the umpire and despite the experienced all-rounder trying to make his case, umpire Wilson didn't budge from his decision and signalled five penalty runs against India.
Umpire Joel Wilson slapped India with a five-run penalty after he found the home team batters guilty of running on the middle of the pitch for the second time during the third Test against England in Rajkot. The incident happened in the 102nd over of the Indian innings on Day 2.
Leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed bowled a flighted delivery to Ravichandran Ashwin, who pushed it towards the off side and set off for a single only to be sent back by non-striker Dhurv Jurel.
As he ran for the single and also returned to the crease, Ashwin was guilty of breaching the 'protected area' of the pitch. He was immediately pulled up by the umpire and despite the experienced all-rounder trying to make his case, umpire Wilson didn't budge from his decision and signalled five penalty runs against India.
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What does a 5-run penalty for the batting team mean?
What this means is that England will begin their innings at 5/0. The total would not be deducted from India's total but added to England's total and not to the individual score of any of their batters. If England, the fielding side, had attracted a five-run penalty, it would have been added to the batting team's total and gone down in the book as 'extras'.
What is the protected area?
The protected area is defined as that area of the pitch contained within a rectangle bounded at each end by imaginary lines parallel to the popping creases and 5 ft/1.52 m in front of each, and on the sides by imaginary lines, one each side of the imaginary line joining the centres of the two middle stumps, each parallel to it and 1 ft/30.48 cm from it.
Was Ashwin the only culprit?
No. It was Ravindra Jadeja who got the first warning for running on the protected area of the pitch on Day 1. Jadeja was first informed by the umpire to stay away from the protected area while running and the second time he did that, he got the first and last official warning. The warning was valid for the entire Indian innings. And when Ashwin repeated the same mistake on Day 2, the umpire signalled for 5 penalty runs.
Why is running through the middle of the pitch a problem?
It comes under 'Unfair Play' and is covered in MCC Laws 41.14. Running through the middle of the pitch is considered to be an attempt to damage the pitch. Whether deliberate or not, the batters are not allowed to run on the danger area. The idea behind this law is to protect the centre part of the pitch where most of the balls generally pitch.
What will happen if there is another breach?
If any other Indian batter runs in the danger area again during the first innings, the umpires can give another 5-run penalty. Each time the umpire feels an Indian batter is breaching the protected area, 5 runs will be added to England's total.
