West Indies players Rovman Powell and Sherfane Rutherford have received official reprimands and one demerit point each for separate breaches of the ICC Code of Conduct during the second T20I against India in Ranchi on Friday.
Powell was penalised for striking the ball away with his bat after being dismissed, while Rutherford was reprimanded for showing dissent towards an umpire’s decision during the match.
According to the ICC, Powell breached Article 2.2 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which covers the “abuse of cricket equipment or clothing, ground equipment or fixtures and fittings during an International Match”.
The incident took place in the sixth over of the West Indies innings, shortly after India pacer Mayank Yadav bowled Powell.
Rutherford, meanwhile, was found to have breached Article 2.8, which deals with “showing dissent at an Umpire’s decision during an International Match”.
The incident occurred in the 13th over when Rutherford reacted aggressively towards the umpire after a delivery he believed was wide was ruled legitimate.
Both players admitted their respective offences and accepted the sanctions proposed by Prakash Bhatt of the Emirates ICC International Panel of Match Referees. As a result, formal hearings were not required.
The ICC confirmed that one demerit point had been added to each player’s disciplinary record. Both sanctions marked the first offence for Powell and Rutherford during a 24-month period.
West Indies script record chase to level series
The disciplinary action followed a remarkable West Indies performance in the second T20I, where captain Shai Hope smashed a 45-ball century and Rutherford hammered 84 off just 37 deliveries to guide the visitors to a six-wicket victory.
Chasing a daunting target of 250, the West Indies completed the pursuit to register the second-highest successful run chase in men’s T20I cricket.
Hope and Rutherford combined for a record 120-run partnership for the fourth wicket after Mayank Yadav’s hat-trick in the powerplay had briefly swung the contest in India’s favour, leaving the visitors struggling at 44/3.
Their counterattacking stand became the West Indies’ highest partnership for the fourth wicket in T20Is and the third-highest fourth-wicket partnership against India in the shortest format.