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Severe weather alert in Brisbane, India and Australia players rush inside dressing room, crowd taken to safety
Severe weather alert disrupts India vs Australia T20I at Gabba, players taken off the field.
A severe weather alert at the Gabba in Brisbane forced the umpires to take the players off the field during the India vs Australia 5th T20I on Saturday. India were coasting at 52 for no loss in 4.5 overs when the groundstaff sounded an alert to the on-field umpires, asking them to immediately take the players off the field.
There was no rain in sight but a few flashes of lightning were there. The ground staff swiftly covered the pitch area and the square. There was a bit of confusion even in the commentary box as there was no rain, but Former Australia opener Matthew Hayden said that a severe storm was heading towards the Gabba and Brisbane, and that was the reason why play was stopped and the players were asked to go inside the dressing room.
India vs Australia 5th T20I Live Score
He also added that a game of football adjacent to the cricket ground started an hour late because of heavy lightning earlier in the day. According to the weather forecasts, there is an hour of heavy rain predicted.
The authorities then sprang into action and cleared the lower deck of the stands, asking the spectators to move inside the shelter.
"We are currently experiencing severe weather and it is unsafe to remain in open areas. Please seek shelter under cover and follow the directions of event staff," flashed the giant screen of the stadium.
About 15 minutes later, it started raining at the Gabba.
Before the stoppage, India got off to a flying start after Australia captain Michell Marsh won the toss and opted to bowl in their must-win match.
Abhishek Sharma, dropped twice, and Shubman Gill hit Australia's new ball bowlers Ben Dwarshuis, Xavier Bartlett and Nathan Ellis to all parts of the ground in their fastest start in this series.
Abhishek, who also became the fastest (in terms of balls faced) to reach 1000 T20I runs, was unbeaten on 23 off 13 balls while Gill raced to 29* off 16 balls.
India lead the five-match series 2-1.
