Title after the trophy: ICC fines Pakistan 5% of match fee for slow over-rate in tri-series final
file photograph of Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, the venue of the final — not today's match action
The trophy had barely settled in Lahore when the bill arrived. The International Cricket Council has fined Pakistan five per cent of their match fee for a slow over-rate in the ODI tri-series final against Sri Lanka — a small penalty attached to a very big night.
One over short, five per cent gone
Match referee Jeff Crowe, of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel, ruled that Pakistan were one over short even after time allowances were taken into account. Under Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct, players are fined five per cent of their match fee for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time, and that is exactly the calculation applied here. Captain Shaheen Shah Afridi pleaded guilty and accepted the sanction, so there was no need for a formal hearing.
It was the second time in the tournament
This was not a one-off lapse. In the tournament opener against Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi on 18 October, Pakistan had finished two overs short and copped a ten per cent fine. The final’s shortfall was smaller, but the ICC’s rule does not grade on a curve — one over short still costs five per cent.
The win itself stands untouched
None of this takes anything away from the final itself. Sri Lanka posted 325 for eight, and Pakistan chased 326 to win by three wickets, reaching 331 for seven with nine balls to spare. Fakhar Zaman’s 127 off 99 balls — eleven fours, six sixes, his twelfth ODI hundred — turned the chase. The trophy is home; the fine is simply the reminder that in a big final, the clock matters almost as much as the runs.
