Here’s how India avoided stop clock penalty versus Pakistan, but USA didn't

During their match against India in New York on Wednesday, the USA were penalized with five penalty runs. This occurred due to the enforcement of the stop clock rule, which was first trialed in international matches starting in December of last year.

After the trial period concluded, the International Cricket Council (ICC) made the rule a permanent feature in international T20 cricket in April 2024.

The stop clock rule is designed to control the time taken between overs, allowing teams only 60 seconds to start the next over. If a bowling team exceeds this time limit, they receive two warnings; any further violations result in a five-run penalty.

In the match at Nassau County International Stadium, the USA became the first team to be penalized under this rule. They committed their third violation during the low-scoring game against India.

Commentator Ebony Rainford-Brent explained, “They’ve exceeded the sixty seconds allotted between overs three times. They’ve been slow, perhaps overthinking due to the pressure of the game. Sometimes that’s the difference between experienced teams like India and others. India’s familiarity with such situations helps them, whereas USA’s captain Aaron Jones, despite recent successes, might be overstrategizing.”

At the time of the penalty, India was at 76/3, needing 35 runs in the last five overs to win. With the aid of those extra five penalty runs, Suryakumar Yadav’s unbeaten 50* guided India to victory and secured their spot in the Super 8 stage.

Former India international and ICC commentator Dinesh Karthik noted, “This new rule places significant pressure on the bowling team captain. India narrowly avoided penalties in their game against Pakistan with two faults. However, the USA succumbed to the pressure and committed the third violation, which cost them dearly.”