The third T20I between India and South Africa was temporarily halted due to thousands of flying ants descending on the stadium. Players were asked to stop by the umpires after the first over of the second innings, with the ants making it impossible to carry on.

Ground staff at the SuperSport Stadium used drones to spray pesticide in the air, with a large number of ants seen lying on the ground shortly afterwards.

The official Cricket South Africa account on X, formerly Twitter, posted: “Play has been halted due to a small pest problem. ‘Flying ants’ are running amok at the stadium, so we will wait for them to disappear before resuming play.”

Some players took measures to avoid the ants but the sheer number of insects made it difficult to evade them. India all-rounder Hardik Pandya was seen pulling his shirt over his face before walking off the field with the rest of his team-mates.

The match was able to continue after a delay of almost 15 minutes, with South Africa chasing a target of 220 runs set by India.

Tilak Varma smashed an unbeaten century to help India to an imposing 219/6 in the first innings. He took his opportunity to shine after being promoted to third in the batting order with 107 runs off just 56 balls.

Abhishek Sharma also impressed with 50 runs off 25 balls, while India debutant Ramandeep Singh smashed a six off his very first ball in international cricket before being run out in the final over.

It did not mark the first time that flying ants had disrupted play at the SuperSport Stadium. A similar incident took place during a Champions Trophy match between England and Australia in 2009, which was delayed by 14 minutes.

The insects can appear in huge numbers for around three to four days after rain, according to Times of India. Other matches in the country have been delayed by swarms of bees, most recently in 2019 when India faced the England Lions in Thiruvananthapuram.