Pakistan suffer huge embarrassment during their Asia Cup 2023; players forced to leave field for floodlight failure

During the Asia Cup 2023 contest held on Wednesday, September 6, Pakistan experienced a significant embarrassment as their players were forced to leave the field due to an unexpected incident. Pakistan, the official hosts of the Asia Cup 2023, faced an unusual situation when one of the floodlights at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore went off during the match, causing both the Pakistan batters and Bangladesh fielders to temporarily leave the field. This incident resulted in a pause in play that lasted for nearly 20 minutes.

The incident took place when Pakistan had scored 15 runs without any wickets lost in their innings. Fakhar Zaman (13) and Imam-ul-Haq (2) were at the crease during the interruption, which occurred at the conclusion of the fifth over. Initially, the players and umpires were unaware of the cause of the disruption and waited on the field to see if the issue could be resolved.

Interestingly, only one of the floodlight towers malfunctioned, while the others continued to function normally at the Gaddafi Stadium. After a 20-minute delay, the lights were restored, allowing Pakistan to resume their run chase. Pakistan, led by Babar Azam, had to chase down a target of 194 runs after Bangladesh had been bowled out for 193.

Prior to this incident, Najam Sethi, the former chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), had made fun of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) for initially scheduling the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka. The ACC had considered changing the tournament’s venues due to rain affecting the Colombo venue. Although they had plans to move the matches to Hambantota, the decision was not officially announced, as both the PCB and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) agreed to stick with the Colombo venue.

In the match itself, Pakistan’s pace bowlers, Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah, wreaked havoc on Bangladesh’s batting order, leading to the visitors being bowled out for 193 runs in just 38.4 overs during the Super Four clash. The relentless pace attack from Pakistan overwhelmed Bangladesh’s batsmen, with the exception of Shakib Al Hasan (53) and Mushfiqur Rahim (64), as the rest of the team struggled to make significant contributions. Haris Rauf took four wickets, Naseem Shah claimed three, and Shaheen Afridi took one wicket.

In the opening stages of the game, Naseem Shah made an early breakthrough by dismissing Mehidy Hasan Miraz for a duck in the second over.