Watch: Snake delays start of Andhra-Vidarbha Ranji Trophy match

The start of Andhra vs Vidarbha Ranji Trophy 2019-20 match was delayed as a snake entered the playing arena soon after the toss.

Andhra skipper Hanuma Vihari plays a shot. (File Photo)

In a bizarre incident, the start of the Ranji Trophy match between Andhra and Vidarbha was delayed after a snake entered the ground.

Vidarbha skipper Faiz Fazal won the toss and opted to field first against Andhra at the Dr. Gokaraju Liala Gangaaraju ACA Cricket Ground in Vijayawada.

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Soon, the players made their way into the middle and moments before play was about to begin, the reptile entered the playing arena and play was halted.

SNAKE STOPS PLAY! There was a visitor on the field to delay the start of the match.

Follow it live - https://t.co/MrXmWO1GFo#APvVID@paytm#RanjiTrophypic.twitter.com/1GptRSyUHq

— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) December 9, 2019

 

Although there was no panic among the players, groundstaff were spotted chasing the reptile away. After a brief interruption, the opening day's play got underway. 

For the record, the two teams clashed for the first time in 2010-11 season at Nagpur when the match ended in a draw with Vidarbha content to take the first-innings lead.

On the next occasion, it was Andhra’s turn to take the first-innings lead at Kadapa in 2011-12.

Teams:

Andhra:  G. Hanuma Vihari (c), K. S. Bharat (wk), Ricky Bhui, D. B. Prashanth Kumar, C. R. Gyaneshwar, Jyothi Sai Krishna, K. Karan Shinde, B. Sumanth, P. Girinath Reddy, B. Ayyappa, K. V. Sashikanth, Ch. Stephen, P. Vijay Kumar, Y. Pruthvi Raj, G. Manish and D. Naren Reddy. Head coach: G. Jaya Kumar. Assistant coach: M. N. Vikram Varma.

Vidarbha:  Faiz Fazal (c), Ganesh Satish, Wasim Jaffer, Aditya Sarvate, Mohit Kale, Jitesh Sharma, Akshay Kolhar, R. Sanjay, Rajneesh Gurubani, Yash Thakur, Akshay Wadkar, Suniket Bingear and Akshay Karnewar. Head coach: Chandrakant Pandit.