Following a significant 304-run loss to India in the third and final ODI in Rajkot, Ireland's confidence took another hit as the ICC penalized them for a slow over-rate. The players were fined 10 per cent of their match fees for failing to maintain the required over-rate during the last match of the ODI series on Wednesday.

G S Lakshmi, a member of the Emirates ICC International Panel of Match Referees, imposed this penalty after determining that Ireland was two overs short of the target, even after accounting for time allowances.

According to Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which addresses minimum over-rate violations, players incur a fine of five per cent of their match fee for each over their team fails to complete within the designated time.

Ireland's captain, Gaby Lewis, admitted to the violation and accepted the proposed penalty, thus eliminating the need for a formal hearing.

The charge was brought forth by on-field umpires Kim Cotton and Akshay Totre, along with third umpire Virender Sharma and fourth umpire Vrinda Rathi.

India clean sweep Ireland

The outcome of the match became a mere formality after India set Ireland an imposing target of 436 runs, with Ireland managing to score only 131 runs before being dismissed in 31.4 overs.

India took a significant step towards a resounding victory, led by the record-setting performance of Smriti Mandhana (135 runs off 80 balls, including 12 fours and 7 sixes) and her opening partner Pratika Rawal (154 runs off 129 balls, featuring 20 fours and 1 six). Together, they propelled the team to a total of 435/5, marking the highest score ever achieved by an Indian team—men's or women's—in One Day Internationals.

The previous highest ODI total for the Indian men's team was 418/5, accomplished against the West Indies in Indore in 2011.

Mandhana and Rawal forged an impressive partnership, accumulating 233 runs for the first wicket in just 26.4 overs, setting the stage for a dominant performance.

Subsequently, spinners Tanuja Kanwar (2 wickets for 31 runs) and Deepti Sharma (3 wickets for 27 runs) took charge, collectively dismantling the Irish batting order, which lacked experience.

Orla Prendergast (36 runs) and Sarah Forbes (41 runs) contributed to a solid third-wicket partnership of 64 runs, aiding Ireland in recovering from a precarious position of 24 for 2 to reach 88 without losing further wickets

However, once Prendergast was dismissed by Kanwar, India swiftly took control, claiming the remaining seven wickets for a mere 33 runs.

This victory also allowed India to surpass their previous largest margin of victory by runs—249 runs—achieved against the same opponent in 2017 at Potchefstroom, South Africa.

Read Also: Yuvraj Singh Urges Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to Embrace Domestic Cricket for Form Recovery

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