The United States were penalised 5 runs against India in the T20 World Cup 2024 match on Wednesday at New York's Nassau County Cricket Stadium.
Before the start of the 16th over, the umpire awarded India 5 penalty runs, providing a significant boost to the team, who were under pressure from the spirited co-hosts.
The on-field umpires issued the penalty to the USA side after the co-hosts failed to start their over on time for the third consecutive instance.
The umpire imposed the penalty under the 'Stop Clock' rule, which the ICC trialled before the T20 World Cup 2024. This ongoing tournament is the first global event where the ICC has implemented the rule. It has significantly impacted playing conditions by discouraging teams from wasting excessive time between overs.
As the name suggests, the stop clock rule is an innovation designed to ensure the match is completed within the time limit, minimising time wastage.
Under clause 41.9 of the revised Men's ODI and T20I playing conditions, which addresses provisions against time-wasting by the fielding side, a clock has been added under sub-clause 41.9.4.
This clock was introduced on a trial basis during Full Member Men's ODIs and T20Is from December 2023 to April 2024 and was applied to around 59 international fixtures during this period.
It was introduced experimentally in December 2023 and mandated for all white-ball matches starting from the T20 World Cup.
The stop clock rule requires the fielding side to begin an over within 60 seconds of the previous over’s completion. The 60-second countdown will be shown on an electronic clock at the ground.
If the fielding team fails to meet the 60-second deadline, they will receive two warnings. After that, a five-run penalty will be imposed for each subsequent violation.
Remember, India defeated the USA by 7 wickets in New York on Wednesday. Arshdeep Singh and Suryakumar Yadav led a somewhat unconvincing victory, securing India's progression to the next stage of the tournament.
Suryakumar Yadav notched a half-century during India's pursuit of 111 against the USA. Meanwhile, Arshdeep Singh achieved his career-best figures of 4 wickets for 9 runs in the match's first innings.
