India’s stand-in captain Rishabh Pant was not a happy chap in the morning session of Day 2 of the second Test against South Africa, and he expressed his fury after the rest of his teammates were seen jogging around and not beginning the next over in time.
The wicketkeeper unleashed his fury at spinner Kuldeep Yadav after the latter was unable to begin his over in time, as the rest of the players were seen walking casually at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati.
Eventually, Pant was handed a second warning for not beginning the over in time, and if a third warning is issued, then five runs would be added to the Proteas’ total in the first innings of the second Test. Earlier, the first warning to Pant was issued in the 45th over, which occurred on the opening day of the encounter.
When the fielders were seen jogging around and taking their own sweet time in getting to their positions, Pant lost his cool and let his feelings be known to the entire team.
“Yaar, 30 seconds ka timer hai. Ghar pe khel rahe ho kya? Ek ball daal jaldi. (The timer is on. Are you playing at your home? Just bowl the ball quickly,” Pant was heard as saying on the stump mic.
What’s the rule?
Earlier this year, the International Cricket Council (ICC) introduced a stop clock in Test matches, which came into effect at the beginning of the 2025-27 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle.
According to the official rules, the fielding team has to start the next over within a minute of the previous one ending. If the rule is flouted, then the fielding team will be given two warnings.
Once the third offence is committed, the batting side will be awarded five runs every time the rule is violated from then on. However, the warning count will be reset after every 80 overs.
The stop-clock rule has been in effect in white-ball formats (ODIs and T20Is) involving Full Members since June 1, 2024.
The game situation
Speaking of the second Test, South Africa won the toss and opted to bat first. At stumps on Day 1, the Proteas score read 247/6 with Kuldeep taking three wickets.
However, the visitors started off well on Day 2 as the side didn’t lose a single wicket in the opening hour with Senuran Muthusamy and Kyle Verreynne mixing caution with aggression perfectly.