India pace bowler Arundhati Reddy was on Monday reprimanded for giving an aggressive send-off to Pakistan’s Nida Dar during their Women’s T20 World Cup contest. Reddy had taken three wickets in India’s six-wicket win over the arch-rivals on Sunday. She let emotions get the better of her after castling Dar in the 20th over of the Pakistan innings as she gestured in the direction of the pavilion.

“Reddy was found to have breached Article 2.5 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to ‘using language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batter upon his/her dismissal during an International Match’,” said the ICC in a statement.

“In addition to this, one demerit point has been added to Reddy’s disciplinary record, for whom it was the first offence in a 24-month period.” Reddy admitted to the offence and accepted the sanction.

On-field umpires Eloise Sheridan and Lauren Agenbag, third umpire Jacquline Williams and fourth umpire Claire Polosak levelled the charge.

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— Suresh Kumar (@SureshK84102899) October 6, 2024

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.

When a player reaches four or more demerit points within a 24-month period, they are converted into suspension points and a player is banned.

Pakistan all-rounder Aliya Riaz couldn’t control her emotions after India’s Asha Sobhana dropped a regulation catch during their Women’s T20 World Cup match in Dubai on Sunday. The incident happened after the powerplay when Muneeba Ali tried to play a ramp shot on Arundhati Reddy‘s ball. However, she failed to time her shot and the ball went straight to Asha, who was standing at short fine leg. It was a regulation catch but Asha failed to hold on to the ball.

As Asha grassed the ball, the camera immediately panned towards Aliya in the dressing room, who was caught covering her face in order to hide her smile.

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— The Game Changer (@TheGame_26) October 6, 2024

However, the dropped catch didn’t come back to haunt India as Shreyanka Patil dismissed Muneeba a few overs late. 

Meanwhile, Arundhati led the Indian bowling attack in the first inning after she bagged three wickets and gave 19 runs in her four-over spell at an economy rate of 4.80.

Speaking after the end of the match, Arundhati praised Renuka Singh and said that she bowled very well. The India bowler added that she has worked a lot on her T20 bowling.

“I’ve been bowling with the new ball and had to be prepared for the powerplay. We had a good powerplay, Renuka too bowled very well. I have worked a lot on my T20 bowling, in all stages of the game. I’ll be working even harder now. It was a day game and it was pretty hot, but we are used to this weather. I just wanted to hit the stumps more, and use my variations and slower ones. That has been working for me,” Arundhati said after the end of the match.

During the run chase, Shafali Verma (32 runs from 35 balls, 3 fours) and Harmanpreet Kaur (29 runs from 24 balls) helped India clinch a massive six-wicket win over Pakistan.

Arundhati Reddy was named the Player of the Match after she displayed a stunning performance with the ball in the first inning.

(With ANI Inputs)