KL Rahul pleads guilty as India fined for slow over-rate in Raipur ODI loss vs South Africa

Team India players who took part in the second ODI against South Africa at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium in Raipur on Wednesday, December 3, have been fined 10% of their match fees. The ICC imposed the penalty after India failed to maintain the required over-rate during the match. Since the team finished two overs short, the slow over-rate ruling was automatically applied.

The Indians accepted the sanction without dispute, as KL Rahul pleaded guilty right away. This meant that the process ended quickly, with no requirement for a formal hearing. The ICC stated in its release, "Rahul pleaded guilty to the offence and accepted the proposed sanction, so there was no need for a formal hearing. On-field umpires Rod Tucker and Rohan Pandit, third umpire Sam Nogajski and fourth umpire Jayaraman Madanagopal leveled the charge."

According to Article 2.2 of the ICC Code of Conduct for players and support staff, teams are fined 5% of their match fee for every over they fall short. As India were two overs behind, each player was fined 10 percent of their match fee.

India Fall Short in Raipur Thriller as South Africa Clinches Victory

The Raipur ODI turned into a high-scoring nail-biter, with South Africa chasing down a huge 359-run target in the final over. A brilliant century by Aiden Markram guided the chase, and left the Indian bowlers struggling in wet and dewy conditions.

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KL Rahul explained the challenges after the game, saying, "Not really a [tough one to swallow] given how much dew there is and how difficult it is to bowl in the second innings. Thought we did well in the last game. Today the umpires were nice to change the ball. Toss plays a big role so I'm kicking myself (laughs). There is always things we could have done better. With the bat, I know that 350 looks good, but that has been the chat in the dressing room even after the last game about how we can get the extra 20-25 runs to give bowlers a cushion with the wet ball."