Nation left red-faced: Cuttack Barabati mismanagement gives Pakistan a chance to troll India

Pakistani fans seized the opportunity to mock the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) after a floodlight failure halted play for nearly 30 minutes during the second ODI between India and England at Barabati Stadium in Cuttack.

The disruption occurred during the seventh over of India's innings, with Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill firmly in control of the game. The floodlights flickered in the sixth over and completely went off in the seventh over, forcing players to stand clueless and hold frustrated discussions with the umpires before leaving the field.

Incidentally, the Cuttack floodlight issue happened just days after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was heavily trolled after newly installed lights at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore were said to have caused an injury to New Zealand’s Rachin Ravindra.

While attempting to catch a ball, Ravindra reportedly got blinded by the lights after which the ball hit him in the face. He was subsequently taken off the field and the PCB faced heavy flak for it.

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However, Indian cricket fans were left enraged after one of the six floodlights went off the Barabati Stadium and netizens from across the border left no stone unturned in trolling the BCCI.

“Pcb can donate old floodlights to bcci,” said one comment on X (formerly Twitter). Others followed with “This is world richest Cricket Board.. Embarrassing situation for BCCI,” and “please donate some money to @BCCI—they can’t afford new floodlights. Or maybe send them some Chinese floodlights like the ones we’re using at Gaddafi Stadium.”

Despite these issues, Rohit Sharma's match-winning 119 off 90 balls marked his 32nd ODI century and saved the day for India as well as the Barabati Stadium. However, even the frustration on Sharma was evident when he lashed out at the DJ for playing music after the floodlight glitch was fixed.

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Meanwhile, the Odisha government has demanded an explanation from the Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) amid questions about the stadium's future as an international cricket venue.