Watch: Snake stops play! Match official bravely shepherds invading reptile from field in Lanka Premier League
Watch: A snake stopped a Lanka Premier League 2023 match between Galle Titans and Dambulla Aura at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
Galle Titans rode on Bhanuka Rajapaksa’s 32-ball 48 and captain Dasun Shanaka’s 21-ball 42 not out to post 180-5 after Dambulla Aura captain opted to bowl in the second match of the 2023 LPL. For Dambulla, Shahnawaz Dahani claimed 2-37, while Praveen Jayawickrama returned 4-0-25-0.
Dambulla lost their openers, Avishka Fernando and Mendis, inside eight balls of their chase before Dhananjaya de Silva and Kusal Perera took them to 27-2 after four overs. At this point, Shanaka replaced Kasun Rajitha with Shakib Al Hasan.
By the time Shakib came on to bowl, a snake had found its way inside the boundary line, and play was held up for a bit. The cricketers saw the funny side, for the relatively new but intense Bangladesh-Sri Lanka have often featured cricketers celebrating with the snake dance.
Play was held up until a match official escorted it off the arena. Dhananjaya (43 in 31 balls) and Perera (40 in 25) added 76 for the third wicket before Alex Ross (39 in 28) sealed a tie. Shanaka finished with 3-27.
Rajitha then restricted Dambulla made 9-1 in the Super Over before Rajapaksa sealed the chase in two balls.
Snakes have stopped cricket on multiple occasions. One had decided to rest just outside the fine-leg boundary during England’s match against the Sri Lanka Board President’s XI in Colombo on their 2007/08 tour.
During England’s 2007-08 tour of Sri Lanka, they played the Sri Lankan Board President’s XI at Colombo. Several England players blatantly refused to field at deep fine-leg during the match because there was a snake just outside the boundary line.
Last October, a snake stopped a Twenty20 International between India and South Africa in Guwahati.
But the most famous of these was the non-incident of 1998/99, when political extremists threatened to release snakes if Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi hosted the Test match against India and Pakistan. The authorities responded by placing the city’s most reputed snake charmers in the stands.
Watch the snake stop play at Lanka Premier League 2023:
Hello, stranger. Where is your accreditation card? 🐍
Even the Sri Lankan wildlife can’t resist the action at the LPL! 🏏#LPL2023 #LiveTheAction pic.twitter.com/R9Fa5k1D3p
— LPL – Lanka Premier League (@LPLT20) July 31, 2023
