5 instances of a wicketkeeper's gloves costing a team 5 penalty runs

Wicketkeepers get a pair of gloves to go along with taped fingers, shin pads, and a helmet on occasion. This makes them stand out among the players in the cricket team when they take the field. Justifiably so, for their job is the most tedious, demanding, and thankless among the fielders.

There have been a few instances when such protective gear has been a bane for a fielding team. We've seen penalty runs being awarded due to the ball going on to strike a helmet placed behind a wicketkeeper on quite a few occasions.

Here, however, is a look at five matches where a wicketkeeper's glove cost the fielding team five penalty runs:

#1 India vs Australia - Nagpur, 2008

Brad Haddin might have saved a lot of runs behind the stumps, but there was this one time it came at a price. Image source: cricket.com.au

Back in the day, the Aussies implemented the 'winning at all costs' ploy to its peak. It paid off for them at times, but at other times it left them red-faced. This particular incident took place in the fourth and final Test match of the series, best remembered for being the last international cricket outing for one of India's greatest cricketers of all time, Sourav Ganguly.

Sachin Tendulkar tried to flick the second ball of the 43rd over from Shane Watson in India's second innings as the latter erred in line and bowled on a good length down the leg side. The ball took a deflection off Tendulkar's thigh pad and Australian wicket-keeper Brad Haddin was never going to get there, but he somehow managed to fling his left glove off his hand and onto the ball.

While he was successful in making the stop, umpire Billy Bowden had none of it and after having a word with then-Australian captain Ricky Ponting, he awarded India five penalty runs. The five runs, though, were of very little significance eventually, as India won the Test by 172 runs, and with it, the series.

#2 Bangladesh vs India - Edgbaston, 2017

MS Dhoni was a master craftsman with the gloves, but this was an instance in which it didn't quite go to plan. Image source: cricket.com.au

Unlike the instance mentioned above, this one was unintentional. India were well ahead in this game – a semi-final clash in the 2017 Champions Trophy.

With Bangladesh tottering at 180/5 in the 40th over and both their set batters gone, Mahmudullah swept a quick, full-length delivery from Ravichandran Ashwin towards Yuvraj Singh at short fine leg, from where the throw came in to wicket-keeper MS Dhoni.

Dhoni left one of his gloves on the ground, anticipating he would have take a shy at the stumps as the throw was wide. He tried to flick it back onto the stumps at the striker's end as the batters rushed through for a quick run, but ended up finding the glove, which lay close to the stumps at that point.

As a result, Bangladesh scored a total of six runs without even hitting the ball anywhere near the boundary ropes. Thanks to Law 28.2.1.3, which stated that the ball doesn't count if something of this nature takes place, they also got to face an extra ball in that over!

The additional five runs didn't turn out to be of much significance in the end. Thanks to an unbeaten 178-run partnership between Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, the former scoring a hundred and the latter falling short of it by four runs, India coasted through to the target of 265 with just under 10 overs remaining.

#3 Queensland vs Western Australia - GABBA, 2018

If you ask Matthew Renshaw about Rule 28.1 of the Laws of Cricket on this date, he might be able to explain it to you rather elaborately. But that might not have been the case before March 9, back in 2018.

With Queensland set to wrap up a convincing victory over Western Australia in the 2017-18 Sheffield Shield fixture at the GABBA, Renshaw decided to have a bit of fun. In the 34th over of the Western Australia chase, Jimmy Peirson dropped his glove and ran towards square leg to chase after the ball, which had deflected off Ashton Agar's thigh pad. Renshaw picked up the glove, put it on, and gathered the throw from his skipper.

As per Rule 28.1 of the MCC Laws of Cricket, no fielder other than the wicket-keeper shall be permitted to wear gloves or external leg guards. Renshaw's action turned out to be against the rules and subsequently, one of folly, for his team were docked five penalty runs. It mattered very little to the outcome of the game, though, as Mitchell Swepson dismissed Agar four overs later, and Queensland completed a convincing 211-run victory.

#4 Lahore Qalandars vs Islamabad United - Dubai, PSL 2019

We saw a repeat of what happened in the Bangladesh-India semi-final clash of the 2017 Champions Trophy in the opening match of the 2019 Pakistan Super League in Dubai. One would imagine the chances of the same happening to be very slim and, yet, it did.

Islamabad United put the Lahore Qalandars in to bat first. Two overs into the game, Sohail Akhtar flicked one from Samit Patel towards deep square. Wicket-keeper Luke Ronchi, having dropped one of his gloves, chased after the ball.

The ball was eventually returned by the fielder at deep square leg. His throw was accurate, but the problem was that he picked the wrong target. The deep square-leg fielder remarkably ended up finding Ronchi's abandoned glove from that distance, instead of the palms of the keeper.

Umpires Richard Illingworth and Rashid Riaz had a discussion and decided to award the Qalandars five penalty runs. The ball wasn't deemed to be a legal delivery, either.

People on social media, especially on Twitter, were taken aback by what happened. Some likened the incident to that of Dhoni's from the 2017 Champions Trophy semi-final. Islamabad United, though, went on to win, chasing down the target of 172 with five wickets and four balls to spare.

#5 Pakistan vs West Indies - Multan, 2022

Much like Renshaw, Babar Azam didn't have Law 28.1 of the MCC rulebook in mind during the second of the three ODIs between Pakistan and West Indies earlier this year. Thanks to solid half-centuries from Babar and Imam, Pakistan set a target of 276 for the West Indies to chase down to level the series.

West Indies completely lost their way right after the first 10 overs. They were reeling at 131/7 after 28 overs, having lost four of those wickets to Mohammad Nawaz.

Nawaz came on to bowl his final over, the 29th of the innings, and the first ball saw Alzarri Joseph inside-edge one towards square leg and jog across to the other end.

Mohammad Rizwan gave chase, having left his right glove around the leg-slip area. Babar Azam calmly picked it up, put it on, asked for the ball, and gathered the ball with the glove on. The umpires were alert and play was stopped. After a few moments, they awarded the West Indies five additional runs.

Babar wore a sheepish smile for the rest of the over. Pakistan, though, went on to bundle out West Indies four overs later to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.