After registering a thrilling win against Punjab Kings (PBKS) on the beautiful grounds of Dharamshala, a bad news has come out for Delhi Capitals (DC). The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has taken major action against Delhi captain Akshar Patel and imposed a fine of Rs 12 lakh on him. This is a big blow for the Delhi team which was celebrating the victory, because BCCI seems to be very strict regarding discipline at this stage of the tournament.

Why was Akshar Patel fined Rs 12 lakh?

BCCI and IPL Governing Council have taken this action due to ‘Slow Over Rate’. During match number 55 played in Dharamshala, Delhi Capitals team failed to complete its 20 overs within the stipulated time. This is a violation of the rules to minimum over-rate under the IPL Code of Conduct. Since this was Delhi Capitals’ first mistake this season, captain Akshar Patel was let off with a fine of Rs 12 lakh.

Captaincy may be in danger!

According to BCCI rules, if a team repeats the mistake of slow over rate repeatedly in the season, the punishment can be more severe. In the first instance, only the captain is fined Rs 12 lakh, but if the same mistake is made the second time, a fine of Rs 24 lakh is imposed on the captain and the rest of the team members are also fined. If this happens for the third time, the captain may face a heavy fine as well as a ban of one match. In such a situation, Akshar Patel will have to take special care of time in the next matches.

Akshar showed his strength with the bat in the match

Apart from the fine, Akshar Patel played a brilliant captaincy innings in this match. Chasing the mammoth target of 211 runs, Akshar played a blistering inning of 56 runs in 30 balls, which included 8 fours and 2 sixes. It was the partnership between him and David Miller (51) that brought Delhi back into the match. In the end, cameos from Madhav Tiwary and Ashutosh Sharma kept Delhi’s playoff hopes alive as they won by 3 wickets.