E-Paper
Sign in
India's preparations for Pakistan clash in Women's World Cup halted as snake enters stadium: 'Just looking for rats'
A snake entered the R. Premadasa Stadium on Friday evening, halting India's preparations ahead of the Pakistan match in the Women's World Cup.
After registering a comprehensive win against Sri Lanka in their opening Women's World Cup 2025 fixture, Harmanpreet Kaur's India will look to continue with the momentum in their next match against Pakistan, led by Fatima Sana. Ahead of the marquee encounter, the Indian team's preparations at the R Premadasa Stadium were halted for a brief period on Friday evening as a snake entered the premises.
According to news agency PTI, a greyish-brown snake was seen slithering along the drains and stands. It happened when the Indian team was moving from the centre wicket towards the nets. However, the side didn't panic as the sight of the reptile sparked laughter and amusement among all present at the venue.
“It’s not venomous. It doesn’t bite. It’s a Garandiya, just looking for rats," PTI quoted a venue official as saying.
It must be noted that a common rat snake, or 'Garandiya' in Sinhalese, is not unusual at the R. Premadasa Stadium. It has made appearances during the Lanka Premier League matches, and it was even spotted during an ODI between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in July 2025.
This will be the first time that the Indian women's team will play a match against Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor. The recently concluded Men's Asia Cup 2025 witnessed plenty of bad blood between the two teams.
Suryakumar Yadav's India refused to shake hands with their Pakistani counterparts. The tournament concluded with India refusing to accept the trophy from Mohsin Naqvi, the chairman of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
It's unlikely that the Harmanpreet-led side will shake hands with Pakistani players on Sunday, considering that BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia recently told the BBC Stumped podcast that India's stance remains the same, as nothing has changed over the past week.
India defeat Sri Lanka
In the opening match against Sri Lanka, India was reeling at 124/6 at one stage, but Deepti Sharma and Amanjot Kaur rescued the hosts as the side posted more than 270 runs in the 47-overs-per-side contest in Guwahati.
Deepti Sharma then took three wickets as India sealed a comfortable 59-run victory. After the match had ended, Harmanpreet spoke about how her side had to work hard against Sri Lanka and nothing came "easy."
“It was not an easy game. We know in ICC tournaments, every game is important and is going to be high-pressure. In the middle overs, batters managed well, despite losing wickets,” Harmanpreet said after the match.
“The way they (Amanjot and Deepti) handled the situation, it was outstanding to watch. Really happy all the girls came together to try to win this game for the country. Having batting till number seven (eight) is biggest strength for us," she added.
