India captain Virat Kohli has been penalised by the ICC for his behaviour with on-field umpire Michael Gough on the third day of the ongoing Test against South Africa in Centurion.
Kohli was fined 25% of his match fee and received one demerit point for “conduct that is contrary to the spirit of the game”.
The incident occurred in the 25th over of South Africa’s second innings. Kohli persistently complained to Gough about the state of the damp ball – play had resumed after a rain interruption – in the final session, and then threw the ball into the ground in an “aggressive manner,” according to the ICC.
Kohli pleaded guilty to the Level 1 charge and accepted the sanction imposed by ICC match referee Chris Broad.
The charge on Kohli was levelled by on-field umpires Michael Gough and Paul Reiffel, third umpire Richard Kettleborough and fourth umpire Allahudien Palekar.
Level 1 breaches carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand, a maximum penalty of 50 percent of a player’s match fee, and one or two demerit points.
