Mohammad Nabi and Hashmatullah Shahidi - (Source: ScreenGrab/X.com)
On Saturday, India and Afghanistan locked horns for the 3rd and final ODI at the Chepauk Stadium in Chennai. The Hashmatullah Shahidi-led side won the toss and opted to bat for the first time in the series. The decision turned out to be a nightmare because the Afghans got off to a disastrous start.
Notably, the Afghans were reduced to 36/4 courtesy of Prashid Krishna’s brilliant opening spell. However, Azmatullah Omarzai and Hashmatullah Shahidi took the onus on their shoulders. Eventuallly, Afghanistan managed to put 230 runs on the board courtesy of Hashmat Shahidi's century.
Hashmatullah Shahidi And Azmatullah Omarzai Stitch Century Stand
From 36/4, the Afghans went to 141/4. Azmatullah Omarazi and Hashmatullah Shahidi stitched a century stand to bring the innings back on track. Omarzai scored 50 (56), while the Afghanistan captain is inching closer to his century.
The duo equalled Mohammad Nabi’s record for most fifty-plus scores against India in ODIs (2).
Also Read: How Many Times Same Bowler And Fielder Have Combined For First 3 Wickets In An ODI Innings?
Now, when India came for the run-chase, the fans were shocked to see the scorecard already reading 5/0 without a single ball bowled. The fans were confused to see the scoreboard. Therefore, this article will shed light on the exact reason behind it.
India Awarded 5 Penalty Runs For Afghanistan's Mistake
Despite the mature innings from Hashmatullah Shahidi, he made a couple of schoolboy errors, which led to 5 penalty runs for the Indian team. The Afghan captain was found guilty of walking at the centre of the pitch, dubbed the danger line.
On the 5th ball of the 31st over, one of the on-field umpires rushed to Hashmat Shahidi, who was found guilty of running in the middle of the pitch. Notably, no player can jog on that imaginary line because the shoe spikes create rough patches, which helps the team bowling second.
Hashmatullah Shahidi Repeats Offence Twice Against India
The first time, umpire let him go with just a warning. However, the Afghanistan captain repeated the mistake on the last ball of the 40th over. Eventually, the umpire awarded India 5 penalty runs and also cancelled the single, just like they did to Sri Lanka A during the recent match against India A after Vipraj Nigam was found guilty of walking at the danger area thrice.
Will Hashmatullah Shahidi Face Any Action From ICC?
The answer is no. The offense is punished on the pitch where the umpire either issues a warning or give penalty runs to the opposite team.
ICC Law For Walking On Danger Area: Under ICC and MCC laws (Law 41), walking or running on the 'protected area' (danger area) of the pitch is considered unfair play. The danger zone is an imaginary rectangle running down the middle of the pitch, 2 ft wide, beginning 5 ft from each popping crease.
Also Read: "KL Rahul- The Easy Scapegoat": Fans Ridicule Shubman Gill For Drop In IND vs AFG 3rd ODI
At the time of writing this article, Hashmatullah Shahidi is batting on 92 and heading towards a century. Further, Afghanistan are struggling because the visitors have already lost 7 wickets and put just 206 runs on the board.
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