A snake enters a ground during IND vs SA 2nd T20I. (Screengrab: Hotstar)At the end of 7 overs of the Indian innings as the South Africans were repositioning themselves, giving them company was a snake that was moving towards long-on.
In the history of the game, there have been several weird reasons for play getting stopped, but this was a first. Barsapara Cricket Stadium at Guwahati, Assam became the unique venue where a game was briefly stopped because of a gleaming black slithering reptile.
Surprisingly, the ground staff were equipped for the uninvited encroacher. It was a clear sign that snakes around here are genuine cricket fans and not the kind who only turn up for international games. The group of four uniformed men that sprinted on to the ground didn’t seem nervous. One had a snake catching stick in hand and the other had a pail. The broadcasters played spoilsport as they moved the cameras from the snake-hunting expedition and started showing old footage of Rohit Shamra hitting sixes.
Snake 🐍 in the House #INDvsSA pic.twitter.com/CllrcwSfcJ
— Ashwani JP Singh (@ashwanijpsingh) October 2, 2022
Traditionally, in India, it has been a good old stadium dog that was in the habit of making its presence felt on D-Day. Once in a while an army of bees have invaded the ground, forcing the humans to sprawl on the ground. A rhino would have been ideal but Assam got into the history books because of a snake.
In the match, South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma won the toss and elected to bowl against India in the second T20I.
South Africa made one change to their playing XI, bringing in pacer Lungi Ngidi in place of left-arm spinner Tabraiz Shamsi.
India fielded an unchanged XI that won the series-opener by 8 wickets in Thiruvananthapuram.