The incident took place after the 34-over mark.
Out of all the reasons a cricket match can be stopped for, insects swarming the playing area remains to be one of the most bizarre ones. The ongoing Women’s World Cup fixture between India and Pakistan came to a halt for a brief period of time for the same reason.
The match was halted for 15 mins after the 34th over as a swarm of insects was all over the playing field in Colombo. However, in the midst of all this drama, Pakistan skipper, Fatima Sana was seen spraying something in the air to make the insects go away.
Though it is not a regular occurrence at a venue like Colombo, it is not unknown too. Swarms of insects during this time of the year are expected due to the wet conditions. Similar incidents were observed last night as well, after the game between Australia and Sri Lanka was called off due to incessant rain.
The first incident occurred around the 28th over, when Pakistan captain Fatima Sana went to the umpires to have a word on the matter. A substitute from the Pakistani camp ran out with a bug spray. Moments later, the Pakistan skipper was seen spraying the air leading to a few comical scenes. Though it made some difference, two men wearing masks came onto the field with bug fogging machines and the game was halted for 15 minutes.
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The first innings of the match between the arch-rivals were full of ups and downs for both sides. India started off well, with openers Pratika Rawal and Smriti Mandhana both getting to starts. However, the Women in Green had their moments and bounced back into the game with wickets in the middle-overs. None of the Indian batters could cross the 50-run milestone and were sent back after getting starts.
The 15-minutes delay seemed to have little effect on the bugs, who were round and about once again after the resumption. To add to that, Jemimah Rodrigues fell shortly after the resumption of play, which indicated the loss of momentum for the Blues. A few overs later, wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh was also seen waving her hands and bat to keep the insects at bay.
However, there was another stoppage in play in the 38th over, when an insect went into the eyes of Pakistan spinner Rameen Shamim. In the end, the Women in Blue got to a total of 247 and were all out in their 50 overs. Ghosh played a crucial knock towards the end of the innings, with an unbeaten 35 off 20 deliveries.
All said and done, this would be one of the most rare moments of a cricket game being halted for the purpose of fumigation.
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