The Indian team may have won the T20I series 5-0, but that came at a cost to their pocket. The ICC has fined the Men in Blue 20 percent of its match fee for maintaining a slow over-rate against New Zealand in the final match.

Chris Broad of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees imposed the sanction after India were ruled to be one over short of the target after time allowances were taken into consideration. “In accordance with Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to minimum over-rate offenses, players are fined 20 percent of their match fees for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time,” the ICC said in a statement.

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Rohit Sharma, who stood in as captain for the match, pleaded guilty to the offense and accepted the proposed sanction, so there was no need for a formal hearing. On-field umpires Chris Brown and Shaun Haig and third umpire Ashley Mehrotra leveled the charge.

This is the second straight time that the Indian team has been fined for slow over-rate. They were previously docked 40% of their match fees after they fell 2 overs short of the target in the fourth match at the Westpac Stadium.

(PTI inputs)