A SWARM of flying bugs halted the Women’s Cricket World Cup grudge match between India and Pakistan.
Players from both sides tried to fix the problem by waving towels and spraying bug repellent.
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But organisers called for heavy duty measures when India were 154 for four in the 34th over of the group match.
With the insect invasion in full swing, a man in a gas mask emerged to fumigate the pitch with an industrial grade bug spray cannon.
Both sets of players were forced to leave the field and fans had to sit through a 15-minute delay.
But even that didn’t seem to have the desired effect.
Once play resumed, it wasn’t long before another stoppage was brought on by a bug flying into the eye of Pakistani bowler Rameen Shamim.
Indian batters repeatedly moaned to the umpire about being affected by the insects.
Unsurprisingly, there is nothing written into cricket law to guide umpires when bugs bother the players.
But they are advised to signal a dead ball if a player is “disadvantaged by an animal within the field of play”.
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India ended up winning the clash with their geographical neighbours by 88 runs.
The match was played on neutral ground in Colombo, Sri Lanka, due to political tension between the two nations.
And there were no handshakes between the players before the action got underway.
Colombo is proving to be a troublesome venue for cricket matches of late.
On Saturday, the match between Sri Lanka and Australia was washed out without a single ball being bowled due to heavy rain.
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