The second ODI match between India and England was halted for a brief moment on Sunday after a floodlight failure at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack. It happened during the second innings, en route to India’s four-wicket win in the chase of 305. The incident saw angry Pakistan fans hit back at BCCI after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was brutally attacked on social media and blamed for the Rachin Ravindra incident.
The incident in Cuttack happened during the seventh over of India’s innings. The opening pair of Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill had taken the hosts off to a promising start, scoring 48 runs between themselves in 37 balls. One of the floodlights suddenly went off, leaving the players from both teams frustrated. The on-field umpires eventually asked them to leave the ground.
The floodlight debacle sparked saw Pakistan fans grabbing the opportunity to hit back at India and BCCI a day after PCB were savaged and blamed for New Zealand batter Ravindra getting hit on his forehead with the ball. Ravindra, who was fielding at deep square leg during the first ODI match of the tri-series against Pakistan, lost sight of the ball amidst the floodlights as it hit him in the face. It was speculated that the use of LED lights at the Gaddafi Stadium, one of the venues for the upcoming Champions Trophy, caused the incident.
‘It was supposed to get renovated’
Recently, Pankaj Lochan Mohanty, acting president of Odisha Cricket Association, said that state body is already in talks with the government over renovating the Barabati Stadium.
“It was supposed to get renovated, this is a very old stadium. We have all the facilities, have made partial renovations as you can see. We have been in talks with the government,” Mohanty told the Indian Express.
“Without government funding, we cannot do a complete overhaul. BCCI will support with their infrastructure fund, but we need government support. The new government, they are also keen to develop. They wanted to build another stadium,” added Mohanty.
“As there are so many stadiums now, we are getting matches once every two years. So, this stadium will go to waste (if a new cricket stadium is built). So, we told them that whatever facility they want to build, it could be done for other sports while redeveloping this stadium for cricket. It will be renovated. The government will help us to renovate and make it a vibrant stadium again,” he said.
