In a bizarre series of events, India’s run chase against New Zealand at HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala was haunted due to fog. Indian batters Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer were not comfortable with playing Kiwi fast bowlers in foggy conditions.
After Shubman Gill's wicket, the fog started to engulf the stadium. In the next over, Kohli waited at the crease for a while, and on-field umpires had a chat as the low-hanging clouds made it tough for players to sight the ball.
In the 16th over, Iyer was able to hit Ferguson for two boundaries. But then fog engulfed the stadium completely. After another lengthy conversation between the umpires, the fielders walked off the ground. The play resumed after 10-15 minutes as the fog or mist cleared.
This is not the first instance of a cricket match interrupted by fog. During Zimbabwe's 1998/99 tour of Pakistan, an entire day was lost due to fog. It ended in a draw. The following Test was abandoned without toss as fog played spoilsport for five days. Zimbabwe ended up beating Pakistan in the three-Test series by 2-1.
Earlier, India's run chase got off to an ideal start. Rohit Sharma turned on the attacking mode against Kiwi pacers pushing them on the back foot. Shubman Gill scored a few exquisite boundaries as well.
The partnership was broken by Lockie Ferguson in the 12th over of the innings. Rohit dragged the ball onto his stumps. He scored 46 runs from 40 balls featuring four fours and as many sixes. In his next over, Ferguson got the better of Gill as well. He scored 26 runs from 31 balls including five fours.
Earlier, Rohit won the toss and opted to field first. Despite two early wickets, Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell managed to steady the ship. Few dropped catches and sloppy fielding did not help the home side. Ravindra scored 75 runs from 87 balls. Mitchell scored 130 runs from 127 balls including nine fours and five sixes. It was Mohammed Shami's death bowling that restricted New Zealand for 273. Shami took a fifer in his first appearance in World Cup 2023.
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