Pakistan penalized for speeding in second test against South Africa

Article Update On:

January 7 2025

Published On:

January 7 2025

Pakistan’s World Test Championship campaign was dealt another blow after they were docked five points for a slow over-rate during their second Test against South Africa in Cape Town. To compound the setback, they were also fined 25% of their match fees. This comes after Pakistan lost to South Africa by 10 wickets during the second Test at Newlands.

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What happened to Pakistan?

Pakistan fell five times short of its target, even after taking into account time allocations. The penalty was imposed by match referee Richie Richardson. Pakistan captain Shan Masood accepted the charge without contesting, making a formal hearing unnecessary. Umpires Kumar Dharmasena, Nitin Menon, Alex Wharf and Stephen Harris were responsible for identifying the deficit.

The WTC rules are clear. Teams lose one point for each over they miss. This is not the first time Pakistan has faced such a penalty. In fact, it is its third deduction in the current 2023-25 WTC cycle.

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Pakistan’s points count so far

Pakistan’s slow over-rate has cost them valuable points. They lost two points after their first Test against Australia in Perth in December 2023. Then in August 2024, they were docked six points during their Rawalpindi Test against Bangladesh.

After the latest deduction, Pakistan now has 35 points from 12 Tests. Without these penalties, they could have had 48. Their percentage of contested points has dropped from 27.78% to 24.31%. While they remain in eighth place, they are only marginally ahead of the West Indies, who are bottom on 24.24%.

Pakistan will host the West Indies in two Tests in Karachi and Multan, starting January 16. They need a clean win against the West Indies to improve their ranking. Even so, they will not qualify for the final. Australia and South Africa have already qualified for the final of the World Test Championship. They will do it at Lord’s in June.