Cricket has seen its share of disruptions, but perhaps none as unusual as what happened in Centurion during India-South Africa T20I. Players were just into one over of South Africa’s innings when they had to swat and duck—not from bouncers but from swarming flying ants that filled the field.
Just one over into South Africa’s innings, with the team at 7/0 and chasing a mammoth target of 220, a swarm of flying ants descended onto the field, causing chaos amongst the players. Indian pacer Arshdeep Singh had already shown being visibly distracted by the pests, and just as all-rounder Hardik Pandya was getting set to bowl his first over, he too struggled with the insects, and the umpires therefore took action, sending all the players off the field.
The ground staff responded quickly and rushed vacuum cleaners to vacuum away the insects. The break lasted for 19 minutes before players returned for a resumption of play, as if this match needed any more excitement.
Watch the video here:
First time I’ve seen play stopped because of flying ants #INDvSA #Cricket pic.twitter.com/XFFN2KgVwm
— The Drunken Copywriter (@G_S_Meredith) November 13, 2024
Tilak Varma Shines With Maiden T20I Century
The pick of the match came in the form of Tilak Varma, who took India to a daunting total of 219 for six. The teenage sensation left-hander produced a batting masterclass as he remained undefeated on 107 off 57 balls with seven sixes and eight fours in his innings, an international century maiden for him. Varma’s knock earned him his first ever international hundred and took India to their second highest T20I score against South Africa.
𝗧𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗧𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗸 🤝 𝗧𝗼𝗻-𝘂𝗽 𝗧𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗸
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/JBwOUChxmG#TeamIndia | #SAvIND | @TilakV9 pic.twitter.com/lFlaJc4AdY
— BCCI (@BCCI) November 13, 2024
Abhishek Sharma also proved a very good partner for Tilak. He made a brisk knock of 50 off 25 balls. The two southpaws put up a sturdy 107-run stand for the second wicket after early loss when Sanju Samson was dismissed without score. Abhishek, responding after a spate of failures himself, launched attacks at South African bowlers, hitting five sixes and three fours in building up a high-scoring platform.
The middle order of India was just spilling over as Keshav Maharaj with 2/36 restrained India from getting going in the middle overs. Suryakumar Yadav could only muster a single, and key players in Hardik Pandya and Rinku Singh got out for 18 and 8. However, it was Tilak Varma who gave a lifeline to the innings by accelerating during the last overs as he took 22 balls to score his last 52. His late charge ensured India finished at a right competitive score with the loss of some middle-order setbacks.
Samson Falls Cheaply
This was early wobble for India when opener Sanju Samson, who made a century in the first game, fell for his second successive duck while mistiming a delivery with low bounce from Marco Jansen. This put further pressure on the top order. However, Tilak and Abhishek staged a recovery that gave India the initiative heading into the South African chase.
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