Virat Kohli received an official warning from umpire Niton Menon for running on the pitch on day three of the second India-England Test.

The incident occured in the final over before lunch, bowled by Dan Lawrence. Ravichandran Ashwin drove the ball into the off-side, and as Kohli started his return for a third run, he crossed over from one side of the pitch to the other, running on the protected area as he did so.

World Test Championship playing condition 41.14 deals with a “batsman damaging the pitch”.

Clause 41.14.1 states, in part: “If the striker enters the protected area in playing or playing at the ball, he must move from it immediately thereafter. A batsman will be deemed to be causing avoidable damage if either umpire considers that his presence on the pitch is without reasonable cause.”

Well that is a strange running line to take, but I think the pitch is doing enough already. pic.twitter.com/g5uQQlq6uy

— Stephen Potter (@S55JNP) February 15, 2021

The warning is a first and final one, and applies throughout India’s innings. If another batsman encroaches on the protected area while running again, England will be awarded five penalty runs.

The state of the pitch has been a hotly contested topic during the ongoing Test match, with the surface taking significantly more turn than that used for the first game of the series. There have been debates over whether the surface would be rated ‘poor’. Kohli’s actions during this innings have also come in for scrutiny before, with him throwing a helmet which bounced across the wicket late on the second day.