Over the years, there have been several reasons for a game to stop. Unfortunately, some external factors interrupt a game which takes place live, and this leads to a lot of confusion. From heavy rain to fans entering the pitch, the cricketing arena has seen it all. As a matter of fact, there have been a few instances where dogs have accidentally entered the playing arena as well.
However, the 60th match of the Indian T20 League 2022 between Bangalore and Punjab witnessed something bizarre. The play had to be stopped due to a cat. In a hilarious turn of events, the cat didn't even enter the pitch and yet, the players couldn't carry on with the game.
The animal was sitting on the sightscreen. This might have caused the batters some discomfort as they would have found it hard to focus on the ball. Thus, the players had to wait for the cat to move. In fact, the umpires asked the staff to move it away as well. Fortunately, the cat moved after a bit and thus, the play could continue.
It is to be noted that this incident occurred during the first over of the second innings. While chasing 210, Bangalore kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Thus, they fell short of their target by 54 runs. This is the Bangalore-based franchise's sixth loss in 13 games.
Nothing unusual, just a cat stopping the play#RCBvsPBKS pic.twitter.com/lOljTMgF4i
— Jemi_forlife (@jemi_forlife) May 13, 2022
Their skipper Faf du Plessis drew light on the game during the post-match presentation. He cited the fact that the wicket was brilliant. He also spoke about playing to their potential.
"It was a good score, obviously Jonny the way he started put our bowlers under really pressure. I thought we pulled it back a bit. 200 was about par on that wicket, was a brilliant wicket. When you're chasing scores like that, you can't afford to lose wickets in clusters and unfortunately, that's what happened to us.
Not a great outing for us tonight. Will take a day off and then see how we can switch on for a game that's a must-win one for us. One more net session isn't going to make you a better player, it's about making yourselves stronger in the mind. If we play to our potential, we are a very strong side. Unfortunately, we didn't do that tonight," said Faf du Plessis.