England risk getting slapped with 5-run penalty after Ben Stokes applies saliva on the ball

In the times of the COVID-19 pandemic, cricket is being played with several new rules to ensure that the players and officials remain safe. One of the main rules has been the ban on saliva use which was an integral part of the game. The players used to apply saliva on the ball to maintain shine in order to extract swing and reverse swing.

But in the times of the pandemic, the players have been barred by the ICC from using saliva. However, they are allowed to apply sweat on the ball. As far as the players are concerned, they have done really well to ensure that they don’t use saliva on the ball since cricket resumed in July last year. However, there have been some exceptional cases when players mistakenly applied saliva to the ball.

And such a case was witnessed on Wednesday during day one of the ongoing third Test between India and England in Ahmedabad. England all-rounder Ben Stokes mistakenly applied saliva on the ball and the umpires were quick to clean the ball with sanitizer. As per the rules, England will be slapped with a five-run penalty if any other player from their team commits the mistake again.

Cricket in the #COVID19 era! Umpire sanitising the ball after Ben Stokes used saliva. The next time someone does so, the batting team gets five runs.#INDvsENG pic.twitter.com/cuwPxPoxK8

— Samanway Banerjee (@qriosam) February 24, 2021

India on driver’s seat

Talking about the game, India have taken firm command of the proceedings in Ahmedabad despite losing the toss. Joe Root’s decision to bowl first completely backfired as India bowled England out for a paltry 112 at a venue where an international game is being played for the first time since 2014. With the exception of Zak Crawley, England’s batsmen never really looked comfortable as the visitors lasted less than 49 overs.

Crawley, who scored 53, was the only player to score more than 20 runs as seven England players failed to touch the double-digit mark. For India, local boy Axar Patel starred with the ball. Having picked up a five-wicket haul on his debut in the last Test, Axar struck on his very first delivery to remove the dangerous Jonny Bairstow.

The left-arm spinner went on to take five more wickets to finish with career-best figures of 6 for 38. Senior spinner Ravichandran Ashwin also did well with the ball as he picked up three crucial wickets including the prized scalp of England skipper Root. Ishant Sharma picked the other wicket.