India pacer Arshdeep Singh has been fined 15% of his match fee for throwing the ball “aggressively and inappropriately” at New Zealand batter Daryl Mitchell during the final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Ahmedabad.

In addition, one demerit point has been added to Arshdeep’s disciplinary record, for whom it was the first offence in a 24-month period.

Arshdeep was found to have breached Article 2.9 of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to “throwing a ball (or any other item of cricket equipment) at or near a player in an inappropriate and/or dangerous manner during an International Match,” an ICC media release stated on Tuesday (March 10, 2026).

The incident occurred in the 11th over of New Zealand’s innings when Arshdeep fielded the ball on his follow-through and threw it aggressively, hitting the pads of the Black Caps vice-captain on Sunday (March 8, 2026).

India defeated New Zealand by 96 runs to become the first team to win three T20 World Cup titles. The Men in Blue also became the first side to successfully defend the title and win the tournament on home soil.

Arshdeep accepted the sanction proposed by Andy Pycroft of the ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees, eliminating the need for a formal hearing.

The charge was levelled by on-field umpires Richard Illingworth and Alex Wharf, third umpire Allahuddien Paleker and fourth umpire Adrian Holdstock.

Level 1 breaches carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand, a maximum fine of 50 per cent of a player’s match fee, and one or two demerit points.

Daryl Mitchell’s 119 from 118 balls elevated a dawdling match Sunday as New Zealand beat the West Indies by seven runs in the first one-day international to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Mitchell’s seventh ODI century lifted New Zealand to 269-7 as it batted first after losing the toss.

Sherfane Rutherford led the West Indies’ reply with his seventh half-century and an unbroken 53-run partnership between Justin Greaves, who made 38 from 24 balls, and Romario Shepherd, who made 26 from 19, saw the tourists carry their chase into the final over.

The West Indies finally needed nine runs from the last two balls bowled by Jacob Duffy and managed only one, finishing on 262-6.

Batters from both teams struggled in difficult conditions at Hagley Oval. Timing was awkward on a two-paced pitch on which few batters were able to score freely. A strong breeze made the longest square boundaries mostly inaccessible. New Zealand also made effective use of the short ball.

The West Indies became bogged down early in their reply. After losing John Campbell (4) in the third over, Alick Athenaze and Keacy Carty consumed almost 18 overs in a partnership of 60 for the second wicket.

Athenaze made 29 from 58 balls and Carty 32 from 67.

Captain Shai Hope lifted the scoring rate with 37 from 45 balls and Rutherford’s 55 from 61 deliveries added momentum before he was out in the 46th over.

“It was a tricky surface in terms of the extra bounce some balls had and I guess there wasn’t a fluent way you could go about your one-day innings,” Mitchell said. “You had to find a way to find ways to put pressure on them at times and absorb pressure at other times.”

Mitchell put on 67 for New Zealand’s third wicket with Devon Conway and 69 for the fifth wicket with Michael Bracewell (35) in the best of New Zealand’s partnerships. Conway ground out 49 from 58 balls at the top of the order.

The first four New Zealand batters fell to catches behind the stumps by Hope, including Rachin Ravindra (4) and Will Young who were out to consecutive balls from Matt Forde in the seventh over. Young fell for a golden duck in his 50th one-day international.

Mitchell came out to bat at that point, with New Zealand 24-2. Conway departed at 91-3 and Tom Latham (18) at 123-4, leaving Mitchell as the innings anchor.

Mitchell carried his bat until the last over, overcoming a groin injury that required on-field medical treatment when he was 79 in the 41st over. He reached his half-century from 61 balls and his century from 107 balls with 12 fours and two sixes.