NEW DELHI: The IPL match between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals on Thursday was abandoned midway due to air raid alerts in the neighbouring cities of Jammu and Pathankot, casting a cloud of uncertainty over the remainder of the tournament. Punjab Kings were in a dominant position at 122 for 1 in 10.1 overs when the lights suddenly went out — initially assumed to be a floodlight malfunction.The game had already started later than scheduled, with growing concerns over the escalating cross-border tensions in the region.As security agencies swung into action, both teams and the packed crowd — around 23,000 spectators at the scenic Dharamsala venue — were safely evacuated from the stadium.Amid the evacuation, several fans were heard chanting anti-Pakistan slogans as panic and anger spread through the stands.Before the abrupt halt, Punjab’s opening pair had provided a fiery start — Prabhsimran Singh was unbeaten on 50 off 28 balls, while Priyansh Arya smashed a quickfire 70 off 34 before falling to pacer T Natarajan.
With the situation tense, players and support staff from both franchises will now be transported to Delhi via a special train arranged from Pathankot, roughly 85 km away from Dharamsala.“We are organising a special train from close to Dharamsala to bring everybody home safely. As of now the match has been called off and the stadium has been evacuated. We will take a call on the tournament’s future depending on the situation tomorrow. As of now, players’ safety is utmost important. The match couldn’t have continued tonight because of the situation. It wasn’t safe,” says BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla.
It is understood that players of both teams have reached their hotel and will now await more information from the Indian cricket board for future course of action. Panic has gripped the IPL at the moment and there was uneasiness amongst players of both DC and PBKS even before the game got underway. Since both teams had reached before the airports were closed, there was no clarity on their departure from the hills.
