What is a danger area in cricket? What does it mean, and why was Kuldeep Yadav warned?

Match Overview:

Mega ICC cricket showdown Champions Trophy 2025 continued with the final match of Group A between India (IND) and New Zealand (NZ), in Dubai, on a thrilling Sunday (March 2). Both teams were looking to finish their league-stage campaign to keep their winning streak intact and also claim the top spot in the group standings before their much-awaited semifinal.

India's Innings and New Zealand's Response:

After being invited to bat first, India suffered some early jolts, before Shreyas Iyer and Hardik Pandya came to the team's rescue and piloted them to a respectable total of 249. In reply, New Zealand lost two wickets before the 50-run mark in pursuit of the target. Spin was always going to be the most important factor in the game as the pitch was expected to slow down as the game progressed. Hence amid various spinners in the side, ace left-arm leg spinner Kuldeep Yadav was also expected to play his role in keeping the run rate under check along with controlling the game in the middle phases by chipping in with some wickets.

Kuldeep Yadav's Bowling and the Danger Zone Incident:

Furthermore, his unique bowling style mostly poses a challenge for the left-hand batters, who often find it tough to read him well. Hence for skipper Rohit Sharma, he was always going to be a special weapon and would have been brought on as a change as and when needed. Notably the incident of running over the "danger area" took place in the 22nd over of New Zealand's innings, when Kuldeep was bowling his second over of his bowling spell. After bowling the first ball of the 22nd over, English Umpire Michael Gough issued a warning to the bowler and also spoke about it with captain, Rohit Sharma.

However, at the end of the over it was revealed that it was not an official warning and the umpire spoke with both the bowler and the leader of the side out of genuine concern. Moving forward, despite this warning, Kuldeep Yadav supported other spinners well and in the process picked the important wicket of Daryll Mitchell. Later on, he finished the innings by cleaning up William O'Roorke as well.

What is danger area in cricket?

Meanwhile, the term "danger area," refers to the part of the pitch which starts from the line where the batters stand to the middle part of the pitch. The concerned area is of utmost importance as it helps both the batters and the bowlers to play their specific roles during the match. While bowlers try to bounce and target this area is to trouble the batters through spin and seam while exploiting the bounce getting extracted off the surface to their advantage. As a result, moving over in the area can create rough patches or disturb the soil, thereby making it dangerous for the batters to play on it and risk injury in the process.

Therefore, bowlers are expected not to walk over the region as it may hand advantage to a team if the culprit was bowling at the beginning of the game. So this means that the team batting second will find it tougher to bat. IN specific, this area in front of the batter standing is five feet. Hence the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) the cricket law-making body has some provisions in the rules and regulations for the game which amounts to "unfair play" as per the MCC cricket rules.

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