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WATCH: Isuru Udana’s lucky escape as snake intrudes playing surface during BLK vs JK game in LPL 2023
The ongoing Lanka Premier League (LPL) 2023 is at its business end with just a handful of games remaining before the Playoffs commence. On Saturday, two games took place on a doubleheader day. The first game saw the B-Love Kandy defeat the reigning champions Jaffna Kings by eight runs. At the same time, the second game saw Dambulla Aura thrash Colombo Strikers by 50 runs. With the wins, both Dambulla Aura and B-Love Kandy have sealed their places in the Playoffs.
However, a specific incident from the first game caught the attention of spectators in the stadium and the fans watching from their homes. During the Kings’ innings, a snake intruded the playing surface and Kandy fielder Isuru Udana had a narrow escape. The video of the incident has gone viral all over social media with fans flooding the comment section.
Here’s the viral video:
Lucky escape for @IAmIsuru17 from the RPS snake #LPL2023 🐍🇱🇰🏏 pic.twitter.com/OnYokQxzvW
— Azzam Ameen (@AzzamAmeen) August 13, 2023
Not the first time a snake intruded on an LPL 2023 game
Notably, this is not the first time a snake intruded on an LPL 2023 game. Interestingly, the tournament faced a snake intrusion on the second day of the league. In the game between Galle Titans and Dambulla Aura, the play had to be halted temporarily because a snake appeared on the playing field in the second innings. The snake was directed on its way out from the playing surface and the incident garnered a lot of attention.
Interestingly, Sri Lanka will be co-hosting the Asia Cup ODI 2023 next in collaboration with Pakistan. As such, there are major questions upon the cricket board for ensuring the safety of players on the playing surface and the dugout. Some of these snakes can be venomous and fatal to human life. As such, a lot of fans showed concern on social media regarding the safety standards for the upcoming tournament. Anyway, snake intrusions can cause halts and break in momentum and can never be healthy for cricket. The Cricket Board of Sri Lanka surely needs to sort out the issue ahead of the marquee continental competition.