The second T20I between South Africa and India on Sunday was marred by chaos at the ACA Barsapara Stadium.
The worst was yet to come when the stadium experienced partial darkness during South Africa’s pursuit of the enormous target of 238, resulting in a second interruption in play. If a snake slithering onto the field during India’s innings wasn’t bad enough, that was to come.
One of the four floodlight towers failed, causing play to be suspended for 18 minutes just after Deepak Chahhar’s first ball of the third over, with South Africa reeling at 5/2.
The media contingent encountered a similar issue prior to the game because there were no lights until a few overs into the game because it took the officials hours to identify the issue.
Earlier in India’s innings, a snake interrupted play for around five minutes, which is unusual for an international competition.
The snake came out of nowhere from a small unseen pit to startle Wayne Parnell at the extra cover region. Then it slithered into the area of the plaza. The groundskeepers arrived and put it in a bucket. When the first T20I between India and Sri Lanka in January 2020 was abandoned because water poured onto the pitch despite being granted a three-layer cover, it was during the final international match played here that the venue’s poor management gained news.
In an attempt to dry off the pitch, ACA then made a pitiful show by bringing a hair dryer, steam iron, battery-operated fans, among other items.