Only 1 cricketer has been penalised under ICC's 'fake fielding' rule? All you need to know

Team India got themselves one step closer to qualifying for the T20 World Cup 2022 semi-finals by beating Bangladesh in a nail-biting encounter on Wednesday, November 2. India vs Bangladesh match played at Adelaide saw India emerge victorious by 5 runs following the implementation of DLS method which saw the revised target being set for Bangladesh. Virat Kohli once again starred with the bat for Team India scoring an unbeaten 64 runs while batting first. 

However, Kohli's batting effort was overshadowed by 'fake fielding' episode. Bangladesh vice-captain Nurul Hasan claimed in the post-match conference that they were denied five crucial runs which ultimately led to their defeat. Hasan while accusing former India skipper of 'fake fielding' claimed that the incident went unnoticed by on-field umpire Marais Erasmus.

The incident happened in the seventh over of the match when Bangladesh was in a comfortable position while chasing the target set by India. A video clip showed Arshdeep Singh throwing the ball from the deep, as Kohli was seen as if he was relaying it at the non-striker’s end. A relay throw happens when the fielder closer to the track catches the ball from deep and throws it at the stumps. 

What do ICC rules say regarding 'fake fielding' 

Law 41.5 of ICC, pertaining to unfair play, prohibits the "deliberate distraction, deception or obstruction of [the] batter", and if an incident is deemed to be a breach, the umpire can declare that particular delivery as dead ball, and award the batting side five runs. 

Marnus Labuschagne penalised for fake fielding 

While Virat Kohli escaped getting penalised for ‘fake fielding’ as none of the batsmen nor the umpire saw it,  Australia cricketer Marnus Labuschagne was not so lucky with that. After the laws of the game were changed back in 2017,  Labuschagne became the first player to be penalised under the new rule. The incident happened when he was playing for the Queensland Bulls in its JLT One-Day Cup clash against a Cricket Australia XI in Brisbane. Labuschagne showed that he make a throw from mid-off but did not have the ball in his hand.

T20 World Cup 2022: India makes stunning comeback to beat Bangladesh 

The five penalty runs proved to be handy for the Bangladesh cricket team as they lost the match by the same number of runs. India after batting first managed to post 184/6 in 20 overs. Virat Kohli continued his stunning form scoring yet another half-century in the T20 World Cup. KL Rahul silenced h his critics with his first half-century of the tournament. and Virat Kohli. Chasing 185 runs for victory Bangladesh made a strong start courtesy of Liton Das, however, the rain interruption broke all the momentum.

When the play resumed, Bangladesh were given a revised target of 151 runs to chase in 16 overs. However, The batsmen failed to capitalise on the start and ended up giving away their wickets by playing poor shots. India were able to pull things back and restrict Bangladesh to 145/6 in 16 overs and win the match.