The toss for the 5th India vs England T20I at The Rose Bowl, Southampton, was supposed to take place at 6:30 PM IST. However, despite a bright and sunny day in the English city, the toss was delayed due to a bizarre reason. While the England team arrived at the ground on time, broadcasters revealed that the Indian team was stuck in traffic, forcing the delay. At 6:35 PM, visuals showed the Indian team arriving at the venue.
According to Cricinfo, it took 57 minutes for their correspondent to travel to the stadium by bus from Southampton Airport Parkway station (less than four miles away) because of heavy traffic.
“I have never seen such a thing. This is where Mumbai Police takes the cake. They would have done something rather than waiting for something to happen,” Ravi Shastri said.
“I would like to apologise on behalf of the Southampton Police,” England great Graeme Swann said on air. He also revealed that the reason England arrived at the stadium on time was because the team was staying at a hotel within the stadium premises.
The match referee decided to delay the toss as players would need time to warm-up a bit before they can start proceedings. Now, the toss will take place at 7.15pm IST and the match will begin at 7.30pm IST.
Last year during an ODI between West Indies and England, players were stuck in London traffic as Harry Brook and company cycled their way to the Oval stadium.
The unexpected delay adds another twist to the dead-rubber final fixture of the five-match T20I series. England have already sealed the series with an unassailable 3-0 lead following dominant performances in the earlier matches. The opening game of the series was washed out due to rain in Durham.
A victory today would not only secure a comprehensive 4-0 clean sweep for Harry Brook’s men but also lift England to the top of the ICC Men’s T20I team rankings, dethroning India.
On the other hand, the Shreyas Iyer-led Indian team will look to salvage some pride and conclude a difficult T20I leg on a high before heading into the three-match ODI series, which starts on July 14 in Birmingham.
Even as all eyes are on the T20I clash in Southampton, ODI captain Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Kuldeep Yadav and Gurnoor Brar are currently practising at Edgbaston.
With IANS inputs