England secured a narrow 22-run victory over India in a Test match at Lord’s cricket ground but faced penalties for slow over-rate, losing two World Test Championship points and receiving a 10% match fee fine. The match drew large crowds across all five days, though some faced entry issues, including Indian wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma who required assistance from commentator Dinesh Karthik to gain access to the venue.An incident involving Indian cricketer Jitesh Sharma highlighted some organisational challenges at the venue. Sharma encountered difficulties entering Lord’s, requiring verification of his identity at the security checkpoint.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!The situation was documented by a cricket fan with the X (formerly Twitter) username @jadejamayur010, who recorded Sharma’s entry complications. The footage showed Sharma needing to contact Dinesh Karthik, who was serving as a commentator for the series, to resolve the access issue.The video captured Karthik speaking on his phone, presumably with Sharma, and signing autographs for fans before returning inside the stadium.Played over the course of five days, the match delivered competitive cricket. India mounted a strong challenge in their pursuit of 194 runs, though ultimately falling short by 22 runs.The result means England lead the five-match series 2-1, though their World Test Championship campaign has been affected by the over-rate penalties. The International Cricket Council (ICC) imposed penalties on England for their slow over-rate. The governing body cited violations of their code of conduct regarding minimum over-rate requirements.“In accordance with Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to minimum over-rate offences, players are fined five per cent of their match fee for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time,” the ICC stated in their official announcement.
The ICC further elaborated on the point deduction: “In addition, as per Article 16.11.2 of the ICC World Test Championship playing conditions, a side is penalised one point for each over short. Consequently, two World Test Championship points have been deducted from England’s points total.”The penalties have impacted England’s standing in the World Test Championship. Their points total decreased from 24 to 22 out of a possible 36 points, reducing their percentage from 66.67 to 61.11. This reduction resulted in Sri Lanka moving ahead of England into second place with a 66.67 percentage.
