India vs New Zealand World Cup 2023 spectacle halted briefly as dense fog engulfs Dharamsala
It was a rather unusual delay in the high-octane clash between India and New Zealand, as fog halted play in Dharamsala.
In a first, the World Cup 2023 game between India and New Zealand in Dharamsala has been temporarily halted due to a thick layer of fog that has descended on the HPCA Stadium. India, in their chase of 274, were 100/2 in 15.2 overs, when a massive sheet of haze-cum-fog made it difficult for play to go on, forcing the players off the field after visibility was impacted. After a delay of some 10-odd minutes, the blanket of fog subsided and play resumed without any deduction in overs or revised speculation. Matches in the past have been interrupted due to rain, intruders, animal invasions and even excessive sun, but with the city celebrating the onset of early winters, the fog interruption is quite out of the ordinary.
The first signs of interruption became imminent in the 15th over when the stadium got shrouded in mist. The stadium is built at an altitude of 1457 meters above sea level. With the effect of the low hanging clouds of the mountains making its presence felt, the umpires decided to have a chat. Shreyas Iyer and Virat Kohli, the two Indian batters out in the middle looked equally confused but since it was nothing more than a passing… err, fog at first… play went on as usual.
The next over is when the visibility really took a hit, to an extent that even viewing the action unfold from the press box took some effort. With the conditions getting worse, at first the New Zealand players raised their concerns, following which Kohli and Shreyas joined in, looking equally miffed. And rightly so. After India had lost the wickets of Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill in a space of three overs, Shreyas had raced to 21 off nine balls and Kohli had gotten off the mark with a crisp boundary. Everytime there is a break in play, it affects the concentration of batters too.
"I'm no weather expert, but not sure whether it gets any better as the night goes on. This fog... what else do you do?" quipped Simon Doull on air before Sunil Gavaskar chipped in, "Oh this is very tough, very, very tough for the batters. Lockie Ferguson's bowling at about 145, 148 kph. He is quick and in such a situation to play with that kind of fog or whatever, not going to be easy."
For a while, it felt more of a haze than actual fog, before the dip in Celsius ruled out the misconceptions if any. DRS rules quickly came into the equation once the players headed back. If the match hadn't resumed after the interruption, the on-air commentators made it clear that the players would have remained off the field until conditions improved. Had the game been curtailed into a 20-over chase, India would have been required to score 24 runs from the remaining 4.2 overs. Thankfully, play resumed timely as Virat Kohli played one heck of a knock to make it five wins out of five games for India, who finally ended the Kiwi jinx to go top of the points table.
"Yeah, look, it was strange, wasn't it? I have experienced it before in first class cricket in Karori Park in Wellington when the fog came in. So yeah, this game continues to provide wonderful things, doesn't it? It was an amazing experience, that's for sure," Daryl Mitchell said after the match.
Rachin Ravindra though, with whom Mitchell put on a partnership of 159 runs, said he had never experienced anything quite like this. "Honestly, I actually don't think I ever have in New Zealand. It was quite interesting. Yes, it was a cool experience to see that. We thought it would hang around a little longer but it got us back on the field," he mentioned.
The first four matches in the city took place without any hiccups, and although a bout of rain briefly delayed the start of the South Africa-Netherlands game, the match progressed smoothly. However, as the temperature continues to drop and nights grow colder in the city, there's a possibility of fog returning during the second half of this venue's final World Cup match between Australia and New Zealand, on Saturday, October 28.
The clear weather forecast for Monday is believed to be replaced some rain on Tuesday, which will further contribute to the chilly conditions. But the good news is that starting Wednesday and lasting through Sunday, barring a brief period of overcast skies, the sun will shine brightly, reducing the likelihood of the Trans-Tasman rivalry getting impacted.