India’s chase in the third ODI against Afghanistan began with a strange-looking scoreline: 5/0 before a legal ball had been bowled. It was not a scoring glitch or a no-ball sequence. The reason was Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi running on the protected area of the pitch during Afghanistan’s innings.Hashmatullah Shahidi repeatedly ran in the danger area of the pitch. (PTI)The incident occurred during a match in which Afghanistan had already endured a chaotic innings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. After opting to bat, they were reduced to 36/4 before Shahidi and Azmatullah Omarzai repaired the innings with a 100-plus stand. Shahidi fought through cramps and went on to make 102 off 131 balls, but Afghanistan were bowled out for 218 in 44.2 overs, with Prasidh Krishna finishing with a maiden ODI five-wicket haul.The first warning for Shahidi had come much earlier. During the 31st over, Shahidi was sent back while looking for a single and ran straight down the danger area. The umpire promptly warned him for the act. The more decisive moment came around the 41st over, when Shahidi had again run through the danger area. Since it was a repeat offence after an earlier warning, the single was disallowed, and Afghanistan were penalised five runs.Why the penalty was added to India’s scoreUnder MCC Law 41.14, it is unfair for a batter to cause deliberate or avoidable damage to the pitch. If the striker enters the protected area while playing or attempting to play the ball, he must move away immediately. A batter can be judged to have caused avoidable damage if the umpire believes his presence on the protected area had no reasonable cause.The protected area is the central danger strip of the pitch. MCC defines it as a rectangle in the middle of the pitch, starting five feet in front of each popping crease and extending one foot on either side of the imaginary line joining the centres of the two middle stumps. The point of protecting this area is simple: repeated footmarks there can damage the surface and create unfair assistance for bowlers later in the match.The law is also very clear on punishment. For a first offence, both batters are warned, and that warning applies for the rest of the innings. If there is another instance by any batter in that innings, the umpire must disallow runs to the batting side, return batters to their original ends if needed, and award five penalty runs to the fielding side.Also Read: IND vs AFG Live Score, 3rd ODI 2026: Rohit, Jaiswal open for India in chase; Afghanistan eye early wicketsThat is why India, who were fielding at the time, received the five runs. Since India had not yet batted, the runs were not added to a completed innings. MCC Law 41.17.4 states that when five penalty runs are awarded to the fielding side, and that side has not completed an innings, the runs are added to its next innings. In this case, that meant India started their chase at 5/0.So, India were awarded five penalty runs because Shahidi committed a repeat offence by running on the protected area of the pitch after an earlier warning. The penalty was then carried into India’s innings, giving them a five-run head start in the chase.