ICC Women’s World Cup 2025: Snake Disrupts Indian Team’s Training Ahead Of Pakistan Clash | Cricket News

As the Indian women’s cricket team trained at the R Premadasa Stadium on Friday evening, an unexpected visitor appeared — a snake.

The sight of the reptile, a common rat snake or “Garandiya” in Sinhalese, is not unusual at this venue.

It has made appearances during Lanka Premier League fixtures and was even spotted during a Sri Lanka-Bangladesh ODI in July earlier this year, making it something of a strange tradition here.

“It’s not venomous. It doesn’t bite. It’s a Garandiya, just looking for rats,” a ground official was quoted as saying to PTI.

On Friday, the greyish-brown snake was seen slithering along the drains and the stands, just as the Indian players were moving from the centre wicket towards the nets.

Instead of causing panic, the sight of the reptile sparked amusement among the Indian cricketers, support staff, and even the media contingent present.

India will face Pakistan in their second game of the women’s World Cup here on Sunday.

India Vs Pakistan: Not A Rivalry For Women

Pakistan has secured three wins in 16 T20I matches but has never defeated India in ODIs, having lost all 11 attempts.

Every time the two teams face each other, fans on both sides hope their team will rewrite history, yet the gap between the teams remains substantial.

In reality, the Indian women’s team is so dominant that the term “rivalry” seems inappropriate. True rivalries are characterised by balance, by evenly matched contests where either team has a chance to win.

This match-up has been far from balanced. These games have taken on a different significance.

For India, victories against Pakistan have been routine milestones in their World Cup journeys or tournament openers.

For Pakistan, each encounter has been a struggle to survive, an attempt to close a widening gap.

On Sunday, the two teams will face off again, following three weeks of high drama involving their male counterparts at the Asia Cup, which ended with champions India refusing to accept the trophy from Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman and Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chief Mohsin Naqvi.

In an unusual scene, Naqvi also refused to relinquish his right to present the cup, walking away with it. The trophy has yet to reach the winning team.

Based on Pakistan women’s team’s tame seven-wicket defeat to Bangladesh in their tournament opener and India’s commanding 59-run win against Sri Lanka, Sunday’s fixture seems likely to follow a familiar pattern.

(With inputs from Agencies)