Azhar Ali suspended for slow over-rate

Pakistan's One-Day International captain Azhar Ali was handed a one-match ban by the International Cricket Council for a slow over-rate in the final ODI against Australia in Adelaide on Thursday.

Azhar Ali has presided over back-to-back ODI series losses in England and Australia.

Pakistan One-Day International (ODI) captain Azhar Ali has been suspended for one match and fined 40 percent of his match fee for the team's slow over-rate in Thursday's > final ODI against Australia , the International Cricket Council (ICC) has said.

Pakistan was ruled to be two overs short of its target during the 57-run loss in Adelaide, the ICC communicated via a statement on Friday. It was the 31-year-old Azhar's second slow over-rate offence in the last 12 months, leading to his suspension from Pakistan's next 50-over match, currently scheduled against West Indies in April.

Azhar was also sanctioned during an ODI against New Zealand in Auckland on January 31 last year.

Players are fined 10 percent of their match fee while the captain is docked double the amount for every over a side is found to have failed to bowl in the allotted time, according to the ICC's code of conduct.