IND vs ENG: Why England scorecard read 5/0 even before facing first ball of their first innings in Rajkot

IND vs ENG: England scorecard read 5/0 even before their openers faced the first ball of their first innings on Day 2 of the third Test against India in Rajkot. India pacer Jasprit Bumrah then bowled a no ball making the scorecard read 6/0 in 0 overs.

Several fans were left wondering about the reason why England's scorecard was reading five runs even without the first ball of the innings bowled. To avoid confusion, commentators also quickly discussed the incident which happened early on Friday which led to India being slapped with five penalty runs.

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Ravichandran Ashwin, who scored 37 runs off 89 balls in the first innings for India, ran on the middle of the pitch (danger zone), forcing on-field umpire Joel Wilson to reprimand the 37-year-old and punish India with five penalty runs.

According to MCC's law 41.14.1, which comes under the Unfair Play section, "It is unfair to cause deliberate or avoidable damage to the pitch. If the striker enters the protected area in playing or playing at the ball, he/she must move from it immediately thereafter.

"A batter will be deemed to be causing avoidable damage if either umpire considers that his/her presence on the pitch is without reasonable cause." The law further states that a team will receive "a first and final warning", which will apply throughout the innings. If the offence is repeated by any team member during the course of the innings, the batting side will be awarded a five-run penalty.

The first warning was given to Ravindra Jadeja on Day 1 of the Test. As soon as Ashwin caused the 'avoidable damage' by running on the middle of the pitch in the 102nd over of India's first innings, Wilson awarded five runs to England.

Ashwin forged a 77-run partnership for the eighth wicket with debutant Dhruv Jurel, and helped India finish their first innings at 445 in 130.5 overs. Jadeja top-scored for the hosts with 112 runs off 225 balls.