The Indian women’s cricket team experienced an unusual interruption during their training session at the R Premadasa Stadium on Friday evening: a snake made an unexpected appearance.
Identified as a common rat snake, or “Garandiya” in Sinhalese, this reptile is no stranger to the venue, having been spotted during previous Lanka Premier League games and a Sri Lanka-Bangladesh ODI in July.
A ground official quickly reassured everyone, explaining, ‘It’s non-venomous and harmless. It’s a Garandiya, simply hunting for rats.’
The greyish-brown snake was seen slithering along the drains and through the stands just as the Indian players were moving from the main pitch to the practice nets.
Far from causing panic, the snake’s presence sparked a moment of amusement and light-hearted chatter among the Indian cricketers, support staff, and attending media.
The Indian squad is set to play Pakistan in their second World Cup fixture at this very stadium on Sunday.
In a related tournament development, Bangladesh impressively defeated Pakistan by seven wickets in their opening match. Chasing a target of 130, they comfortably reached 131 for 3 in 31.1 overs, largely thanks to opener Rubya Haider’s unbeaten 54 and Sobhana Mostary’s 24 not out. Earlier, Pakistan was bowled out for 129, with Shorna Akter taking three wickets, and Marufa Akter and Nahida Akter each claiming two.
Meanwhile, in Guwahati, India began their ICC Women’s World Cup 2025 campaign strongly, beating Sri Lanka by 59 runs in a rain-affected encounter. Sri Lanka, chasing a revised DLS target of 271, could only manage 211 runs. Deepti Sharma earned Player of the Match honors, while Amanjot Kaur was India’s highest scorer, and Inoka Ranaweera picked up four wickets for Sri Lanka.
This 13th edition of the tournament brings together eight teams, who will play 28 round-robin matches across various venues in India and Colombo. The upcoming India-Pakistan match on Sunday is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated fixtures.