South Africa vs India third T20I match stopped due to ‘flying ants’

Umpires asked players to pause the play after the first over of the second innings due to too many flying ants creating havoc on the ground.

A match official looks on as play is temporarily suspended because of flying ants. | Photo Credit: AFP

The third T20I between India and South Africa was stopped due to ‘flying ants’ around SuperSport Park in Centurion on Wednesday.

Umpires asked players to pause the play after the first over of the second innings due to too many flying ants creating havoc on the ground.

The groundsmen used drones to spray pesticide in the air. The staff later used super soppers to clear field.

Play has been haulted due to a small pest problem😅

"Flying ants" are running amock at the stadium, so we will wait for them to disappear before resuming play.#WozaNawe#BePartOfIt#SAvIND

— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) November 13, 2024

The match was resumed after a halt of nearly 20 minutes with South Africa chasing a target of 220 runs.

This isn’t the first time flying ants have halted a game at the SuperSport Park. A similar incident happened during the 2009 Champions Trophy between Australia and England.

Here are a few other incidents when play has been halted due to insect attack:

1) 2018/19 – India A vs England Lions in Thiruvananthapuram - halted due to a bee attack during the match.

2) 1979/80 – India vs Pakistan at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru - halted due to a bee attack.

3) 1999/00 – India vs South Africa at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru - halted due to a bee attack.