Watch: Speaker outage at Kingsmead, Durban forces to play India’s national anthem twice. (Source – BCCI)
Hosts South Africa opted to bowl first after skipper Aiden Markram won the toss for the first T20I against South Africa on Friday, November 08.
As a customary act, players of both countries and match officials countries took centre stage to sing national anthems marking the commencement of the encounter.
However, a bizarre incident took place which left the spectators as well as players surprised. The ground speaker operator faced some technical glitches, which forced interruptions during India’s national anthem – Jana Gana Mana.
The players, however, continued to sing, only for it to be played once again when they were done. The video of the speaker outage at the ground went viral on social media and got the netizens buzzing. The actual reason behind the operational difficulty that occurred at the venue is unknown.
Watch the video of the incident here:
Technical issues while playing India national anthem at South Africa #INDvSA pic.twitter.com/zERCrEi3DV
— Mr.Perfect 🗿 (@gotnochills007) November 8, 2024
India pick three specialist spinners, three pacers
Speaking of team combinations, the Indian team entered the game with three pacers in the form of Hardik Pandya, Avesh Khan, and Arshdeep Singh. Another left-arm pacer Yash Dayal was expected to be handed an India debut, but failed to make the cut, as India captain Suryakumar Yadav believed otherwise.
Also Check: SA vs IND 2024: Yash Dayal misses first T20I at Durban – Reasons Explained
“We were looking to bat first. The wicket looks nice, better than the practice wicket and we will try to put runs on the board. The guys in the dressing room have made my job easier, the fearless approach they play with for their respective franchises and have brought the same approach to the team,” Yadav revealed at the toss.
India (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson(w), Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan