Windies Beat Afghanistan To End 5-yr ODI Series Amid Huge Moth Invasion In Lucknow

The match was a day and night affair and as soon as the floodlights came on, a swarm of huge black moths descended upon the ground., forcing players to wear masks and carry on with the game

West Indies beat Afghanistan by 47 runs in the 2nd ODI of the 3-match series to win their first bilateral one day international series in almost 5 years. While Windies breaking their 5-yr long ODI series drought was a major talking point in the cricketing circles, the game also attracted headlines for the wrong reasons with an invasion of black moths during the match which forced the players to wear masks at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium , one of the designated home grounds for the Afghanistan cricket team. However, while the air quality index in the city remained a dismal 342, which falls under the 'very poor' category and a thin veil of smog covered the ground during the match, it was not the air that had forced the visitors to seek protection. The match was a day and night affair and as soon as the floodlights came on, a swarm of huge black moths descended upon the ground. Moths could be spotted around the crease and the boundary line which led to West Indies captain Kieron Pollard and all rounder Jason Holder to talk to the umpires. Matches are halted in situations like these but the officials went ahead and the players seemingly decided to take protection. The West Indies won the second ODI at Lucknow to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. The Caribbean Nation registered their first series win since August 2014. That was 21 series ago. Afghanistan, on the other hand, suffered their 11th ODI loss in a row. Put into bat, West Indies posted 247 for nine in their stipulated 50 overs, riding on a 50-ball 67 by Nicholas Pooran and a 75-ball 54 from opener Evin Lewis.