Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson take New Zealand to a safe 77/1 after 15 overs at Chester-le-Street against England

Guptill and Williamson take NZ to a safe 77/1 after 15 overs

New Zealand have made a smooth start to their innings under cloud cover in the series-deciding fifth ODI in Durban. They have fielded uncapped seamer Andrew Mathieson, to replace Mitchell McClenaghan. LIVE CRICKET SCORECARD: England vs New Zealand, 5th ODI, Chester-le-Street

Brendon McCullum, after depositing Steven Finn for a six down the ground off the fourth ball of the first over, got bowled off the next ball. But the other opener Martin Guptill and No. 3 Kane Williamson played responsibly to build a base for a large score. LIVE CRICKET UPDATES: England vs New Zealand, 5th ODI, Chester-le-Street

After 15 overs, they have built a stand of 70. New Zealand are 77/1, after being asked to bat by Eoin Morgan. England have also made a change in their line-up, with Jonny Bairstow replacing Jos Buttler as the wicketkeeper.

Although the Indian team management have not decided to lodge an appeal against the fine handed to MS Dhoni for shoving fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman while attempting a run, it is revealed they had been planning to do so if the penalty was given only to the Indian captain. As it turned out, Dhoni was fined 75 percent of his match fee, and Mustafizur 50 percent, by the match referee Andy Pycroft.

After the team had returned to their hotel, the team had been informed about the punishment being reserved only for Dhoni, which prompted the team, after several rounds of meeting, to contest the charges. Three options were communicated as options of responses to this judgment by the Indian camp: contest charges, face appropriate penalty, or request a smaller penalty, according to a report by Hindustan Times. But the Indian camp held a firm view that, ‘Our main defence was Dhoni never tried to intentionally hurt Mustafizur’, as quoted by the daily.

But at the hearing in the morning, Dhoni described what happened chronologically as the footage of the incident was being shown to him, after which Bangladesh bowler and their team’s manager were also summoned separately. While Dhoni was running between the wickets, there was little space for him to move ahead avoiding physical contact between Dhoni and Suresh Raina, his running partner, or Dhoni and Mustfizur. Eventually, Dhoni collided with Mustafizur, as he had to get to the other end quickly to avoid getting run out.

Mustafizur, after being shown the footage, admitted he could have made more efforts to avoid the contact. As both players were given the penalty, the Indian team management refrained from contesting the charges or lodging any protest.