India skipper loses 25 per cent of his match fee and one demerit point after incident during the third day of the second Test against South Africa
Kohli fined for code of conduct breach
India captain Virat Kohli has been fined and handed one demerit point for breaching the International Cricket Council’s Code of Conduct during the ongoing second Test against South Africa at Centurion.
Kohli has been fined 25 per cent of his match fee for breaching Level 1 of the code on Monday’s third day of the match.
Kohli was found to have breached Article 2.1.1, relating to “conduct that is contrary to the spirit of the game.”
A statement from the ICC read: “Monday’s incident happened in the 25th over of South Africa’s second innings when Kohli continued to complain to umpire Michael Gough about the ball being affected by a damp outfield following a rain delay, before throwing the ball into the ground in an aggressive manner.”
After play, India bowler Jasprit Bumrah said Kohli had been asking the umpires about the condition of the ball.
"The ball was swinging (before the break) but when we went back, both sides of the ball got wet so the ball stopped swinging," Bumrah said.
"We asked what can we do to get the ball dry."
Kohli pleaded guilty to the offence at the end of play and accepted the sanction proposed by match referee Chris Broad.
The charge was levelled by on-field umpires Michael Gough and Paul Reiffel, third umpire Richard Kettleborough and fourth umpire Allahudien Palekar.
Level 1 breaches carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand, a maximum penalty of 50 per cent of a player’s match fee, and one or two demerit points.
The Proteas resumed at 2-90 on day four, holding a lead of 118 runs.
On Monday, a batting masterclass from Kohli kept India in the match as he struck 153 in India's first innings of 307.