Barabati Stadium, Cuttack. | (Credits: X)
With floodlight failure occurring at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on Sunday during the second ODI between India and England, the Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) has been slapped with a show-cause notice. The Director of Sports from the state government has sought a response from the association within ten days.
The floodlight failure on Sunday occurred after 6.1 overs as the match was halted for 30 minutes, forcing the players to go off the field. With Rohit Sharma starting to find his feet after a prolonged lean patch, the Indian captain wasn’t willing to go. The Men in Blue had already reached 48 by that stage in pursuit of 305.
The notice sent by Siddharta Das, Director of Sports from the state government stated the below, as quoted by Cricbuzz:
“The Odisha Cricket Association is hereby directed to submit a detailed explanation for the cause of the disruption and identify the persons/agencies who were responsible for such lapses and outline the measures taken to prevent similar incidents in the future. The findings must be submitted within 10 days upon receipt of this letter. This incident led to a 30-minute suspension of the match, causing inconvenience to players and spectators.”
Rohit Sharma’s belligerent hundred guides India to unassailable series lead
Meanwhile, Team India skipper Rohit Sharma was the star of the night as the veteran batter struck his 32nd ODI hundred, getting there with a six and needing only 76 balls to reach the milestone. He eventually got out for 119 but the skipper had reduced the hosts’ target to less than 100 by then.
Although the Men in Blue lost six wickets before reaching the 305-run target, they required only 44.3 overs to get there, handing England a drubbing. In the process, they took an unassailable 2-0 series lead and will hope to win it 3-0 on Sunday in Ahmedabad.
