Zaheer 'fined' despite two wickets

Bangalore: Zaheer Khan may have been the pick of Indian bowlers with two wickets on first day of the Test match, but was yet 'fined' $100 for no-balling at the end of day's play.

Not only Zaheer, Rahul Dravid too was docked $50, even though his crime was limited to just being paired with the left-arm fast bowler.

In case you are wondering who slapped these penalties, it's the Indian bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad and the team management who decided that every bowler of the side would be fined $100 for each no-ball he sends down during the present series.

Interestingly, each bowler has been paired with a batsman, who in turn, is to be fined half of the penalty amount for the transgression of his bowling partner.

Ishant Sharma has thus been 'paired' with his Delhi state captain Virender Sehwag. The idea is if the former was to bowl a no-ball, he would pay up $100, along with $50 to be pinched out of Sehwag's pocket.

Similarly, Harbhajan Singh has been paired with Sachin Tendulkar; Anil Kumble with V.V.S. Laxman and Munaf Patel with Gautam Gambhir. The total amount from such penalties would go towards the team kitty.

The 'measure' appeared to have an immediate effect as Zaheer Khan, who had a long-standing problem with no balls, overstepped just once during the entire day's play yesterday. Sehwag also bowled a no-ball but the team doesn't view him, or for that matter Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly, as regular bowlers.

During the three-Test series in Sri Lanka, Zaheer Khan had no-balled on no less than 12 occasions.

Kumble was the second worst offender with six no-balls.

In the one-day series that followed, Harbhajan Singh was guilty of bowling 11 no-balls.