Sialkot fined for slow over-rate

Sialkot Stallions were fined Rs 10,000 for a slow over-rate in the final of the Faysal Bank Twenty20 Cup against Rawalpindi Rams. Shoaib Malik's men were two overs short of their target at the end of the final, after time allowances were taken into consideration.

Sialkot accepted the penalty without contest, but were unhappy with the match referee's attitude. "The delay was only because of the miss-communication between match officials, but at the end we had the title back and that was more important for us," Mohammad Naeem, the Sialkot team manager told ESPNcricinfo.

Rawalpindi's innings was delayed for 28 minutes because of a misunderstanding over the rules. With 15 runs needed from six balls, Mohammad Rameez came out to bat with a runner. With the ICC's new regulations prohibiting runners coming into effect from October 1, it was originally thought that this was now against the rules. However, the confusion was cleared up after a lengthy deliberation with a note that since the championship had kicked off on September 25, it was to be played under the old rules that did allow a runner.

Sialkot won the Faysal Bank T20 Cup for the sixth time on Sunday. The decisive over was the 19th in Rawalpindi's chase, in which Raza Hasan conceded just four runs and took two wickets, to swing the match Sialkot's way.