![[WATCH] Play Halted Due to Swarm of Ladybirds Interrupting Day 1 of ENG vs IND 3rd Test](https://cricxtasy.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/WATCH-Play-Halted-Due-to-Swarm-of-Ladybirds-Interrupting-Day-1-of-ENG-vs-IND-3rd-Test.png)
Play was stopped due to a bizarre reason on Day one of the third England vs India Test.
Day one of the third Test between England and India at Lord’s on Thursday was briefly halted due to a swarm of ladybirds entering the stadium.
The incident took place before Akash Deep could bowl the fifth ball of the 81st over of England’s innings. England captain Ben Stokes was on strike with Joe Root at the other end. Jasprit Bumrah was the first player who bore the brunt of the attack by the insects.
“Jasprit Bumrah is being attacked by some flying ants,” Sky Sports commentator Nasser Hussain said on-air. “The game just stops. They’re all being attacked. It’s like we’ve not had enough delays today. We may have another one,” he added.
The two on-field umpires, Paul Reifell and Sharfuddoula got together to have a discussion. Ben Stokes then proceeded to have a chat with Paul Reifell as the former was not happy even as the umpires asked to resume the game. However, not long after, the ground was cleared of the ladybirds and the game resumed.
The third Test between England and India at Lord’s is evenly balanced after Day one of the Test on Thursday. At stumps, England were 251/4 with current skipper Ben Stokes (39*) and former captain Joe Root (99*) unbeaten.
England won the toss and opted to bat first. Nitish Kumar Reddy struck twice in the 14th over with the dismissals of Ben Duckett (23) and Zak Crawley (18). Ollie Pope scored 44 runs whereas Harry Brook, the No.1 Test batter, scored just 11 runs. Ben Stokes and Joe Root have thus far forged an unbeaten 79-run partnership for the fifth wicket.
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Nitish Kumar Reddy was the pick of the Indian bowlers on the opening day with figures of 2/46. Jasprit Bumrah had figures of 1/35 whereas Ravindra Jadeja finished the day with figures of 1/26.
The five-match Test series is currently 1-1 after the completion of two Tests. England chased down 371 on the back of knocks from Zak Crawley (149) and Zak Crawley (65) to beat India by five wickets in the first Test at Headingley.
Shubman Gill, who hot two centuries, and Akash Deep, who took a 10-fer in the match, turned things around for India in the second Test at Edgbaston, with the visitors beating the hosts by 336 runs.
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