The second T20I between India and South Africa which was played at tha Barsapara cricket ground in Guwahati, Assam will be remembered for some crazy action on the field. India scored 237/3 in 20 overs and South Africa almost chased it down, scoring 221/3 with David Miller hammering 106*.
However, apart from the action from the bat and the ball, the match was halted twice, once thanks to a faulty light tower and before that a curious snake crawled onto the field, bringing the action to a pause. The incident took place during the beginning of the seventh over of the innings when India was batting.
Assam Cricket Association (ACA) secretary Devajit Saikia said on Monday, said that he believes the reptile enjoyed the game.
“Regarding the two incidents, which you want to say, snake crept into. In some places, we see streakers, in some other places we see intruders into the ground from the stands. But here we have a different thing that is a snake. I am sure the snake was also enjoying the match and wanted a closer look of the players, ” said Saikia while addressing the media.
During the match, a couple of South African players pointed it out to KL Rahul and the on-field umpires. The staff then rushed onto the field with the necessary equipment and captured the rogue reptile within minutes, giving the players time to take a drinks break.
“I am sure the snake was enjoying and trying to get a closer view of the players scoring runs. Six and fours from every ball. The snake must have been very unhappy when one of our curating members, Mr. Boro, he sprang into action in no time and caught hold of it and put him outside the playing arena,” added Saikia.
Talking about the second interruption when one of the light towers went blank, Saikia added: “I don’t think it is a big incident. One MCB tripped and it was put back to the normal position and I think as we don’t have LED system in the stadium. It was an all-metal system so we are going to replace it in the next two-three months’ time and to bring the light to its full form it takes about 10-15 minutes that is why the delay was for 12-15 minutes.”
(ANI inputs)
