India A, led by Tilak Varma , were made to pay dearly for a costly error during the fourth match of the Tri-Nation A series on Monday at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium. Sri Lanka began their innings with 10 runs on the board before the first ball was bowled, after Vipraj Nigam was found guilty of running down the middle of the pitch multiple times.
In the 35th over, bowled by Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, Nigam was given a second warning, and hence a five-run penalty was imposed. The delivery was also declared a dead ball. The same happened in the 37th over, and another five-run penalty was handed out. This effectively meant that Sri Lanka would begin their chasing innings with 10 runs on the board. The second offence of Nigam happened when he attempted to guide Kugathas Mathulan's delivery towards the short third-man region and go for a quick single.
The running in the middle of the pitch matter started with Anukul Roy being issued a first warning. He was dismissed in the 33rd over, but the warning remained in effect for the rest of the batters in India A's batting innings.
So when Vipraj came to the middle, any further infringement would have resulted in an automatic five-run penalty.
Earlier, India A were also given five penalty runs after Sri Lanka A wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella wasn't able to collect a wide cleanly, resulting in the ball hitting the stationary helmet behind.
According to the official rules, if a batter is found running on the protected area deliberately or carelessly, the umpire has to issue a first warning. Any more offences from then on result in the batting team being penalised five runs.
The batters have always been advised to stay away from the protected area to keep the pitch in good condition. If a batter repeatedly runs in the middle of the match, then the spiked shoes can create rough patches or footmarks.
In the match between India A and Sri Lanka A, Sri Lanka A won the toss and opted to bowl. India A were in a spot of bother at one stage after being reduced to 143/7. From there, Vipraj and Suryansh Shedge put on 104 runs for the eighth wicket, helping India A post 265.
Vipraj was dismissed for 51 while Suryansh scored 71. The latter was dismissed in the penultimate over of the match.
Before this contest, India A won their opening match against Sri Lanka A but then the side lost against Afghanistan A owing to the DLS method.
Vishesh Roy is a sports journalist with a strong focus on cricket. He began his career at Asian News International (ANI), where he covered a range of high-profile events, including the India Open, Legends Cricket League, the England–India Test series in Ahmedabad in 2021, and the inauguration of the Narendra Modi Stadium. During his tenure at ANI, he also reported extensively on domestic cricket, covering several Ranji Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy matches across the country. While cricket remains his primary beat, Vishesh has also reported on tennis, football and WWE. After a stint of over three years at ANI, Vishesh moved to NDTV, where he gained hands-on experience in digital-first journalism, with a particular emphasis on live blogs and real-time news reporting. He joined Hindustan Times in October 2024 and quickly established himself with a series of exclusive interviews and source-driven stories. Ahead of the IPL 2025 auction, Hindustan Times was the first to report that the two-day event would be held in Saudi Arabia. In the early months of his tenure, Vishesh secured interviews with leading cricketers, including Pat Cummins, Shreyas Iyer, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Rashid Latif. He has also closely tracked the rise of emerging talents such as Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Priyansh Arya by speaking to their current and childhood coaches. His background in on-field reporting has helped Hindustan Times Digital break exclusive stories on major developments, including Virat Kohli’s return to the Ranji and Vijay Hazare Trophy, IPL scheduling, and the T20 World Cup controversy involving Bangladesh and Pakistan. Read More
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