The India vs South Africa 3rd T20I at Centurion's SuperSport Park was forced to be halted temporarily on Wednesday due to swarms of flying ants. The play was stopped just after South Africa had started its innings; it was at 7/0 and facing a tricky target of 220. An ant invasion seemed too distracting for the players to continue.

The bizarre halt happened after India’s fast bowler Arshdeep Singh was seen swatting away insects, followed by Hardik Pandya, who appeared visibly annoyed while preparing to bowl his first over. The swarm of insects bothered both teams, and it was at this point, that the umpires finally acted in caution and sent both teams off the field. The ground staff improvised quickly and brought out vacuum cleaners to disperse the pests, and play resumed after a 19-minute delay.

South Africa's Ryan Rickelton and Reeza Hendricks walk off with India players as play is stopped due to flying ants(REUTERS)

[Source- HT]

Leading India’s innings, Tilak Varma smashed his first T20I century to lead India to 219/6 against South Africa. The young batter showcased marvelous potential during the innings as he smacked his first international hundred with an unbeaten 107 off just 57 balls with seven sixes and eight fours. 

That has placed India on a mounting score of 219/6, which is their second-highest score against South Africa in T20 internationals. Much-needed support for Varma came in the form of Abhishek Sharma, who got his act together with a strokeful 50 off 25 balls after South Africa captain Aiden Markram opted to field first.

Varma and Sharma's 107-run partnership for the second wicket laid a solid foundation for India after the early wobble of losing Sanju Samson, who fell for the second successive duck in the series. The middle order stumbled but Varma's aggressive innings in the last over saw India maintain the upper hand, adding a blistering 52 runs off only 22 balls in the last six overs.

Abhishek arrived at his half-century, with five sixes and three fours, and was at a point where India could start building from a stable base. However, South Africa’s spinner Keshav Maharaj (2/36) managed to put some brakes on the scoring, with key wickets like captain Suryakumar Yadav (1), Hardik Pandya (18), and Rinku Singh (8) falling in quick succession. But Tilak Varma kept the action at the other end alive, who countered the bowlers with a wide array of strokes that punished South Africa's pacers and added crucial runs for India in posting a daunting total.

Earlier in the game, opener Sanju Samson experienced another setback. Sanju Samson was sent back to the pavilion by Marco Jansen for a duck after a low bounce outsmarted him on only the second ball he faced. For the second time in two successive games, Samson is left with a zero on the scoreboard. He had scored a century in the first game of the series.

It was after that curious pause in the solitary ant's race that the play resurfaced to make for a viewing of a very interesting match that would go down in memory as one of the most thrilling performances by Tilak Varma, whose spectacular century might well be remembered as the standout feature of the T20I series between India and South Africa.