Heavy fog in Dharamsala stalled India’s chase of 274 against New Zealand in their World Cup 2023 match at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium on Sunday. The match was stopped after 15.4 overs, with India on 100 for 2. The fog had started to roll in at around 7:30 pm IST, and the visibility had dipped significantly by the time the umpires decided to take the players off the field. Television visuals showed that the floodlights were covered in haze.
The umpires had a long chat with the two Indian batters Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer and New Zealand’s captain Tom Latham before taking off the players. The Duckworth-Lewis and Stern method would come into play if the match could not be resumed, the officials confirmed. This meant that India needed to score 124 for 2 at the end of 20 overs for a result to be produced.
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After a brief interruption of 12 minutes, the play resumed with the fog lifting. The visibility was much better when the players returned to the middle and the umpires allowed play to resume at 7:50 pm IST.
This was one of the rarest occasions in international cricket when fog caused an interruption in play. The other notable instance was the fog-affected Test series between Zimbabwe and Pakistan in Pakistan in 1998-99.
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India raced off to a strong start in their chase of 274, with Rohit Sharma hitting 46 off just 40 balls. However, Lockie Ferguson got the wickets of both Rohit and Shubman Gill before Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer joined hands in the middle.
UPDATE: The play has been delayed due to inclement weather.
Virat Kohli (7*) & Shreyas Iyer (21*) at the crease as 100 comes up for #TeamIndia 👌👌
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/Ua4oDBM9rn#CWC23 | #MenInBlue | #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/IRiiSkr7OX
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 22, 2023
These are just a few of the many humorous reactions that were shared on social media. The fog may have caused a delay in the match, but it also provided some light relief for fans around the world. Here are a few of the posts:
“Aur janaab kya chal raha aaj kal?
India mein tou Fogg chal raha hai.”That ad got real. pic.twitter.com/WQPAPFeE0x
— SubhaM ThakuR (@SubhaMThakuR) October 22, 2023
Did #Fogg use that little break to push their ads and products?#INDvNZ #CWC23
— Saikiran Kannan | 赛基兰坎南 (@saikirankannan) October 22, 2023
Match stopped due to Fogg at Dharamshala Stadium 🏔 #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/nKiVkAQeDw
— abhinav mishra 𝕏 (@xAbhinavMishra) October 22, 2023
Awww…….fog on an Indian stadium. Dharamshala is so cute. India mein Fogg chal Raha hai!#INDvsNZ #Dharamshala #lowcloudsindharmshala pic.twitter.com/KBu59LzcnZ
— Shivansh Mishra (@Blogshivansh) October 22, 2023
Players now at #Dharamshala .. #INDvNZ #RohitSharma #Dharamshala #Gill #ViratKohli #Suryakumaryadav #WorldCup23 #CWC2023 #ICCCricketWorldCup #Fogg #Bumrah pic.twitter.com/VSnhUlgOb6
— Mr. Stark (@MrStark181) October 22, 2023
Dharmshala Stadium Fogg 😰#ICCCricketWorldCup | #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/7LLsToVdU5
— Experience (@XAnalgesic) October 22, 2023
Stop it guys….that was not Fogg
“Kanchana is coming”#INDvsNZ #Dharamshala pic.twitter.com/QtO72SQSOz— SRKian Hu mein (@Ayaanizhere) October 22, 2023
