23 May 2025 ko Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow mein khele gaye Indian Premier League (IPL) match ke dauraan Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) ke captain Rajat Patidar aur Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) ke skipper Pat Cummins ko slow over-rate ke liye bhaari jurmaana bhugatna pada. Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) ne IPL ke Code of Conduct ke Article 2.22 ke tahat ye penalties lagayi hain, jo ke minimum over-rate ke rules ko address karta hai.
Is rule ke mutabiq, teams ko apne 20 overs 90 minutes ke andar complete karne hote hain. Agar time se zyada lagta hai, to financial penalty lagti hai — aur agar season mein baar baar violation hoti hai, to jurmaana aur zyada ho jata hai.
RCB ke official captain Rajat Patidar ko INR 24 lakh ka jurmaana diya gaya, halanke usne us match mein ground par team lead nahi ki. Uski jagah Jitesh Sharma ne stand-in captain ka role nibhaya, jabke Patidar sirf batting karne aaye as an “impact substitute” kyunki wo injury ke baad abhi abhi wapas aaye hain. Lekin IPL ke rules ke mutabiq, agar aap designated captain hain, to team ki over-rate ka zimma aap par hi hota hai, chahe aap field par hoon ya nahi.
Yeh RCB ka season ka doosra over-rate offence tha. Pehla 7 April 2025 ko Mumbai Indians ke against hua tha, jisme Patidar ko INR 12 lakh ka jurmaana laga tha. Doosri baar offence hone par fine double ho jata hai — is liye iss dafa INR 24 lakh ka fine laga. Iske ilawa, RCB ke har ek player, including the impact player, ko INR 6 lakh ya apni match fee ka 25% — jo bhi kam ho — ka jurmaana diya gaya. Puri team par mila ke lagbhag INR 90 lakh ka collective fine bana. Yeh dikhaata hai ke BCCI kitna strictly over-rate ke rules enforce kar raha hai, khaaskar un matches mein jahan high scores aur zyada strategic breaks hote hain.
SRH ke captain Pat Cummins par bhi INR 12 lakh ka jurmaana laga — lekin unka yeh season ka pehla offence tha, is liye fine sirf captain tak limited raha. SRH ko ek on-field penalty bhi face karni padi, jahan last do overs ke liye unhe ek extra fielder 30-yard circle ke andar rakhna pada, jo slow over-rate ka immediate penalty hota hai.
Match khud ek high-scoring contest tha. SRH ne pehle batting karte hue 231/6 ka score banaya, jisme Ishan Kishan ne zabardast 94 runs (48 balls) ki not-out innings kheli. RCB ne 232 ka target chase karna start kiya, aur unki opening partnership bhi strong rahi — Virat Kohli ne 43 (25 balls) aur Phil Salt ne 62 (32 balls) banaye. Lekin phir batting collapse ho gaya, aur unki team apne aakhri 7 wickets sirf 16 runs mein gawa baithi. Puri team 19.5 overs mein 189 par all-out ho gayi, aur 42-run se haar gayi. Pat Cummins ne bowling mein 3 wickets lekar RCB ke chase ko derail kar diya.
Match ki high-scoring nature ki wajah se bhi delays hue, kyunki bowlers bar-bar field set kar rahe the aur aggressive batting ke khilaf strategies bana rahe the, jisse over-rate slow ho gaya.
Rajat Patidar ke fine par discussion ho raha hai, kyunki wo match mein captain nahi the — lekin rules ke mutabiq agar aap season ke designated captain hain, to zimmedari aapki hi hoti hai. Yeh pehle bhi dekhne ko mila tha jab Rajasthan Royals ke Sanju Samson ko INR 24 lakh ka fine laga tha, halanke Riyan Parag us match mein field par captain the.
RCB ke liye yeh defeat aur fine dono ek challenge ban gaye hain. Halanke unhone playoffs ke liye qualify kar liya hai, SRH ke against 42-run ki haar ne unhe points table mein third place par laa diya — 13 matches mein 17 points ke saath. Gujarat Titans (18 points) aur Punjab Kings (17 points) unse aage hain. Unka net run rate bhi gir gaya hai, jisse top-2 mein finish karne ke chances kam ho gaye hain.
Ab RCB ko apna aakhri league match 27 May 2025 ko Lucknow Super Giants ke khilaf jeetna zaroori hai, aur saath hi dusri teams ke results unke haq mein hone chahiye, taake wo top-2 spot hasil kar saken.
Slow over-rate ka masla IPL mein bar-bar samne aata hai, khaaskar un matches mein jahan scoring high hoti hai ya pressure zyada hota hai. BCCI ke strict actions — jaise ke bhaari fines aur on-field penalties — ka aim hai ke matches time par khatam hoon, taake tournament ka pace aur fairness maintain rahe. Is season mein kai aur captains — jaise Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant, aur Riyan Parag — bhi aise fines face kar chuke hain. Rajat Patidar aur Pat Cummins ke liye yeh reminder hai ke chahe match kitna bhi tough ho, time management bhi utna hi important hai.
