There were two unusual delays during the initial stages of the Rajasthan Royals-Lucknow Super Giants game in IPL 2024 today (March 24) after issues with the spider-cam cable and the Zing bails.

The first game of the double-header on Sunday was delayed for a bizarre reason as one of the wires of the Sider-cam snapped and fell on the ground in the first over of the clash. The incident happened after the second ball of Mohsin Khan’s over when a wire of the spider-cam snapped, leading to several technicians running out on the field as they fixed the issue. It took a while for the wire to be bundled up and collected before Rajasthan Royals could resume their batting again.

The spider-cam, which is used to get a bird’s eye view of the action for TV broadcasts and is suspended by wires in the air, has come under the scanner a number of times in the past with MS Dhoni complaining about the equipment last year. According to Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings teammate Devon Conway, the wicketkeeper was dismayed at the spider-cam interfering with the game and distracting players due to its sudden movements

This was not the only delay the two teams faced within the first four overs. Three overs later, there was another stoppage after an issue emerged with the Zing bails, which were not lighting up. The bails needed to be replaced, as a result, as the players had a second stoppage in play.

According to the IPL Playing Conditions, the LED bails (or Zing bails) are to be used for the tournament. In case of a run out, stumping, hit wicket or bowled, the moments at which the wicket would have been broken shall be “deemed to be the first frame which the LED lights are illuminated and subsequent frames show the bail permanently removed from the top of the stumps.”

Controversy would have ensued if the bails were not replaced and a batter had been dismissed in the ways mentioned above, which made it imperative that they were replaced immediately.

Earlier this month, there was a bizarre stoppage at a crucial juncture during the Women’s Premier League game between Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Giants after the sprinklers turned on automatically, frustrating batter Harmanpreet Kaur.

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