IPL 2021: Rohit Sharma fined ₹12 lakh for slow over-rate

Rohit Sharma, the Mumbai Indians' captain, was fined ₹12 lakh for maintaining a slow over-rate in their IPL 2021 game against the Delhi Capitals (DC) on Tuesday, April 20.

If Mumbai Indians maintain a slow over-rate in one more match in the tournament, the captain will have to pay a penalty of ₹24 lakh while the other team members would be docked 25 percent of their match fee or ₹6 lakh, whichever is less.

A third offense would lead to the team captain being banned for one match and fined ₹30 lakh. The rest of the team will have to pay ₹12 lakh or 50 percent of their match fee - whichever is lesser.

"As it was his team’s first offence of the season under the IPL’s Code of Conduct relating to minimum over-rate offences, Mr Sharma was fined Rs 12 lakh," the IPL said in a statement.

However, it has to be noted that Rohit Sharma didn't take the field for most parts of this match. Midway through the Capitals' chase, he was forced back to the dressing room to attend a minor niggle. Kieron Pollard led the side in his absence.

"It's only a niggle. It should be fine," Rohit claimed in the post-match presentation, bringing great relief to the fans.

Rohit Sharma's wicket triggers a collapse for the Mumbai Indians

Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bat first against the Delhi Capitals. The 33-year-old played an excellent knock, scoring 44 off 30 balls, and was looking dangerous. However, he mistimed a flighted delivery from Amit Mishra and holed out at long-on.

After Rohit Sharma's wicket, the Mumbai Indians' middle-order fell like a pack of cards. Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya and Kieron Pollard - all fell for single-digit scores, leaving the team in a spot of bother. Jayant Yadav came to the rescue by scoring 23 runs as the team finished with 137/9 in 20 overs.

In reply, the Delhi Capitals finished the chase in 19.1 overs. Shikhar Dhawan and Steve Smith made valuable contributions of 45 and 33 runs respectively, helping the team climb up to 2nd position on the IPL points table.