Play between Andhra and Vidarbha at Vijayawada was delayed for a while after a snake entered the playing area. It came as a surprise for the players in the middle and the fans as well. 

Vidarbha skipper Faiz Fazal won the toss and opted to field first against Andhra at the Dr. Gokaraju Liala Gangaaraju ACA Cricket Ground in Vijayawada. 

"Careful" Ishant Sharma decides against playing in Delhi’s opening round of Ranji games

When players were ready at their fielding position, a snake was seen crawling on the ground. Soon, the groundsmen stepped in on time and took care of the snake. Incidents like this are very rare and it was one of those unusual days. However, no player or official was harmed. Thankfully the reptile was spotted on time.

"SNAKE STOPS PLAY! There was a visitor on the field to delay the start of the match," wrote BCCI's official Twitter account for domestic cricket.

At the end of 45 overs on first day's play, Andra scored 126/3. Hanuma Vihari was looking strong on 73*, and he was accompanied by Srikar Bharat at 22*. For Vidarbha, Yash Thakur picked up two wickets, and Rajneesh Gurbani bagged one.

The 86th season of Ranji Trophy has started on Monday. It will be played until March 13, 2020. Chandigarh will compete in the tournament for the first time.