Indian captain Virat Kohli has received an official warning from umpire Niton Menon for running on the pitch on day three of the ongoing second Test against England at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
The incident took place in the final over before lunch, bowled by English part-timer Dan Lawrence. The bowler went for a blockhole delivery to Ravichandran Ashwin, who drove the ball into the off-side and picked up three runs.
But, as Kohli started his return for a third run, he crossed over from one side of the pitch to the other and ended up running on the protected area. After that, umpire Menon had a word with Kohli and warned the Delhi-lad for his actions.
However, Kohli did not look happy with the warning as he was seen talking to the umpire. Moreover, when he walked to the stumps, Kohli also exchanged a few words with England captain Joe Root, who was positioned at the slips.
Here is the video:
https://twitter.com/sandybatsman/status/1361205106998345729
As per World Test Championship (WTC) playing conditions, one cannot run on the protected area unless the umpire considers it fine with a reasonable cause.
“If the striker enters the protected area in playing or playing at the ball, he must move from it immediately thereafter. A batsman will be deemed to be causing avoidable damage if either umpire considers that his presence on the pitch is without reasonable cause,” states Clause 41.14.1 of WTC playing conditions.
Further, when an umpire issues such warning to any batsman, it is considered as the first and final one and applies throughout the team’s innings. If another batsman gets caught running on the protected area again, the opposite side will be awarded five penalty runs.
Meanwhile, on Day three of the ongoing Test, Kohli showed tremendous batting technique on the tough spinning track. He scored 62 runs from 149 deliveries with seven fours before Moeen Ali trapped him in front.
