India and Pakistan are locking horns in the marquee match of the T20 World Cup at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The fixture is being played in front of more than 1 lakh fans and millions of fans are watching the live action on their TV sets and mobiles. Both teams are under pressure and are leaving no stone unturned to succeed.
During the fixture, Rohit Sharma-led side has come up with a unique plan to avoid getting penalised for slow over-rate. As per The Indian Express, India have deployed their support staff members and substitute players at the boundary ropes to save time.
Now, a player doesn’t have to run to the boundary rope to get the ball. Instead, the person stationed at the rope is throwing the ball back into the playing area to save time. It was clearly visible as a member of India’s support staff was seen running towards the direction of the ball even before it landed.
As per ICC’s rules, a team is penalised for not completing 20 overs in time. As a punishment, the fielding team is without the services of one player outside the 30-year circle. It can make a big impact on the game and teams are ensuring that they aren’t penalised.
Australia is another team which has opted this unique method to save time. “In the powerplay, obviously the ball flies around and you lose time when players have to go and fetch the ball which is a part of cricket. So the time thing is a really difficult one to manage. So I guess stationing the guys who are on the bench around the ground does save you 10 seconds here and there. Potentially. And that all adds up at the end of the day. It’s not really giving you an advantage, it just makes sense. I think it’s common sense in the powerplay to do that,” Australia all-rounder Ashton Agar said recently.
