ICC T20 World Cup 2016: Lights at Eden Gardens go off during Bangladesh-New Zealand game
The floodlights went off at Eden Gardens in Kolkata during the Super 10 encounter between New Zealand and Bangladesh. One of the towers lost power as the game was stopped due to poor lights. The umpires spoke to the players and they went off the field.
It’s another shambolic experience for the ground as incidents like these have happened in the past on this particular venue. One notable event has to be the one when the lights went off during an ODI between India and Sri Lanka in 2009.
In the Indian Premier League too, the lights had gone off at the Eden Gardens. In 2008 in an IPL match between the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Deccan Chargers, the tower light just behind the big scoreboard near D Block near the High Court end went out.
Bangladesh were reeling at 45 for 6 chasing New Zealand’s score of 145 when the lights went off, 11 overs have been bowled till then.
Eden Gardens will also host the final of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2016. So it’s better if the authorities put all the things in place before the final. Otherwise, it will be a shameful experience for the organisers as well as the local cricket board headed by former India Captain Sourav Ganguly.
This is surely not a good sign for the endorsement of the final as people from all over the world will witness the mega-event. It won’t definitely be a good image for the city as the historic venue may lose out on future matches.
In an International tournament like these, incidents like losing power can never be tolerated. The unnecessary interruptions in a game are something that no team would like to have given the intensity of the battle.
Recent news suggests that the game has started once again and things are back to normal right now.