OCA Faces Inquiry Over Barabati Stadium Floodlight Failure During India-England ODI 

India beat England in the second match of the ODI clash on Sunday evening and won the series early. However, during the game, a glitch in the floodlight at Barabati Stadium in Cuttack caused the game to stop for more than 30 minutes, which resulted in a strict response from the local government.

10 Days for a Detailed Report 

Siddhartha Das sent an official request to the Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) on Monday. He is the director of sports for the government of Odisha. Siddhartha said that the stoppage of the match due to light problems caused inconvenience to both players and fans. He asked the OCA to prepare a detailed report on the incident and its reasons. The document must also identify the persons and/or bodies involved in the disruption. In addition, the director pointed out the importance of providing a list of measures aimed at preventing similar incidents in the report. 

Das expects the report to be prepared within 10 days. 

It’s Not the First Stadium Incident 

Currently, OCA has no president, so the notice recipient was Secretary Sanjay Behera. It should be noted that unpleasant incidents have occurred at the Barabati Stadium before, particularly during the T20I match between India and South Africa in October 2015. The BCCI (OCA is an affiliate of the Board) sought a report on that incident. A total of 25 international matches have been played at this stadium. Until last Sunday, the last one was the T20I game between India and South Africa in 2022. 

Lighting Problems did not Hamper India 

Despite the floodlight glitch and temporary stoppage, India continued to control the game. At the time of the glitch, Men in Blue were leading by 48 runs in 6.1 overs. Skipper Rohit Sharma played an impressive game at that moment. He was on 29 at the time of the unintended break. The player’s result (119 off 90 deliveries) enabled India to win by four wickets.