During the Women’s ODI World Cup 2025 clash in Colombo, India vs Pakistan faced a 15-minute halt—not due to rain, but a swarm of bugs on the field. Pest control cleared the insects before play resumed, causing a rare mid-match interruption.
The Women’s ODI World Cup 2025 clash between India and Pakistan was halted for a while after bugs disrupted the players’ focus and movement on the field at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday, October 5.
Team India was put to bat first after losing the toss to Pakistan skipper Fatima Sana. The openers gave the Women in Blue a steady start to the innings, with Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal forming a 48-run stand before the vice-captain was dismissed for 23. Rawal’s stay at the crease also came to an end after being dismissed for 31 at 67/2/
After Pratika Rawal’s dismissal, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur joined Harleen Deol at the crease to carry on India’s batting. The pair stitched a 39-run stand for the third wicket to take the Women in Blue past the 100-run mark before Harmanpreet was dismissed for 19 at 106/3, leaving Harleen Deol to steady the innings for India.
Bugs Stop Play in Colombo
After Harmanpreet Kaur’s dismissal, Harleen Deol was joined by Jemimah Rodrigues at the crease to carry on India’s innings. The pair rebuilt the Women in Blue’s innings and took the team past the 150-run mark, with steady partnerships and sensible shot-making, before Harleen was dismissed for 46 at 151/4.
However, the players were distracted by bugs swarm at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Over the last couple of days, Colombo witnessed heavy rainfall, which resulted in the match between Sri Lanka and Australia being abandoned without a toss, and the bugs emerged in large numbers on the outfield.
After 34 overs of India’s batting, the match was halted for 15 minutes, and the officials called in pest control to clear the swarm before the play was resumed.
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As the match resumed, no overs were lost, allowing India to continue their innings uninterrupted and maintain momentum against Pakistan. After India resumed their batting after a halt of play due to a bug swarm, Jemimah Rodrigues’ stay at the crease came to an end, dismissed for 32 at 15, leaving Deepti Sharma to anchor the innings and guide the team through the middle overs.