The costliest over ever?

Which was the most expensive over in cricket? The one in which Garry Sobers slammed Malcolm Nash for six sixes, you say, or the one in which New Zealand’s Bert Vance gave away 77 runs. There's a new challenger: The over that cost Kings XI Punjab $140,000 on Wednesday. That was what Kumar Sangakkara’s men were docked for being an over behind schedule during the loss to Rajasthan Royals.

The IPL’s crackdown on tardy over-rates had started with four captains being slapped with fines of $20,000 each within the first two days of the tournament. Kumar Sangakkara, as a repeat offender on Wednesday, found himself $40,000 poorer while the rest of his team lost $10,000 each. The flat fines are likely to prove a greater deterrent than the match-fee penalties in international cricket, which barely impacted the stars' pockets, and could especially affect the fringe players. However, given that bad habits die hard, those in the firing line may push for a revival of John Buchanan’s multiple-captains theory just to share the load..