Pakistan wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal and India pacer Ishant Sharma were Wednesday made to pay for their spat during the first Twenty20 International between the two teams at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore Tuesday. Akmal and Sharma were fined by the International Cricket Council (ICC) after being found guilty of Level 1 breaches of the ICC Code of Code following an altercation between the two players in the high-voltage encounter which Pakistan won by five wickets. Akmal was fined five percent by Roshan Mahanama, of the Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees, after he pleaded guilty to breaches of Article 2.1.8 of the ICC Code of Conduct of ‘conduct contrary to the spirit of the game' in the 18th over of the Pakistan reply. Sharma also pleaded guilty to the offense. However, he appealed the penalty. After reviewing the evidence, Mahamana re-confirmed his view that Sharma initiated the incident which was reported by all four umpires. Therefore, a penalty of 15 percent of the match fee was imposed. — Agencies
