New Delhi: Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) will have to explain the floodlights failure during India’s second ODI against England at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack, the state’s sports minister Suryabanshi Suraj has said.
Suraj was present in the stands along with Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and other senior ministers as India won the match by four wickets to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
The action was interrupted for about 35 minutes when India were chasing a 305-run target. Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill had lifted India to 48 for no loss in 6.1 overs when one of the eight floodlights malfunctioned.
The floodlight started to blink and went off at around 6:15pm but the power supply was quickly restored as Rohit faced England seamer Saqib Mahmood. But moments later, the lights went out as the game was held up.
It was Cuttack’s first ODI in four years as Rohit was batting on 29 off 18 balls while Gill was on 17 off 19 balls when they had to retire to the pavilion.
The action resumed later when the lights were restored as Rohit scored a ton to lead India to a comfortable win.
‘Happened despite precautions’
“An explanation will be sought from the OCA over the floodlight glitch. It happened despite taking all precautions and making elaborate prior arrangements by the OCA,” Suraj said.
It later surfaced that a generator attached with the floodlight malfunctioned and the back-up generator had to be pressed into action. As it takes time to change the connection from one generator to the other, it resulted in the delay.”
OCA secretary Sanjay Behara said two generators were attached with each floodlight tower, preventing the malfunction from snowballing into a major issue.
“When one generator malfunctioned, we put the second one in service. But it required some time to move the generator as the players’ vehicle was parked in between the tower and the second generator,” Behera said.
Congress MLA from Barabati-Cuttack Sofia Firdous was also present at the stadium called for a probe into the matter.
“What happened at the Barabati stadium today is very unfortunate. An impartial investigation should be conducted,” she said.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India is yet to speak on the matter.
The action at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack was interrupted for around 35 minutes as India chased down a 305-run target to win by four wickets. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
