The third T20I match between India and South Africa faced an unusual interruption on Wednesday. A swarm of flying ants invaded SuperSport Stadium in Centurion. Umpires paused the play after the first over of the second innings. The insects created chaos on the field.
Insect Invasion Halts Play in Centurion
The match was underway when players were affected by the flying ants. Reports indicated that Arshdeep Singh struggled to remove the insects from his clothing during the first over. The umpires decided to take players off the field. Too many ants lay on the pitch, making it unsafe for play.
Groundsmen quickly responded. They used drones to spray pesticide into the air. Soon after, many ants lay on the ground, allowing play to resume. This incident is not unprecedented; a similar situation occurred during the 2009 Champions Trophy semi-final between England and Australia at the same venue.
Match Context: India vs South Africa
Before the interruption, South Africa won the toss for the third consecutive time in this series. They opted to chase, with the series tied at 1-1. Both teams aimed to gain an advantage. Suryakumar Yadav, India’s captain, expressed confidence in batting first. He believed that the Centurion pitch would favor run-scoring.
Tilak Varma Makes History as the Youngest Player to Score a Century in T20 Internationals
Both teams made strategic changes to their line-ups. South Africa introduced Lutho Sipamla, an extra seamer known for his strong domestic performance. India handed a debut to Ramandeep Singh, who had an impressive strike rate in his previous IPL season with Kolkata Knight Riders.
India eventually finished at 219 for the loss of 6 wickets, thanks the the century by Tilak Varma. Opener Abhishek Sharma also contributed with a fifty. Before the game was halted, South Africa were 7 without any wicket after 1 over.
Despite the insect invasion, weather conditions at SuperSport Park were favorable for cricket. Clear skies and no rain were forecasted for much later in the evening. This promised a good playing environment once normalcy returned.
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