Watch: CPL final comes to a halt as fielders search for cricket ball in distant stands

In the CPL final, fielders had to go and find the ball amidst the stands amidst artificial fans.

The Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2020 reached its grand finale on Thursday where Kieron Pollard-led Trinbago Knight Riders took on St Lucia Zouks at the spectators-less Brian Lara Stadium.

While crowds are not a part of cricket matches in the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic, organizers of the tournament have put in artificial crowds and introduced simulated crowd noise and music to improve the match atmosphere for players and those watching at home.

But the absence of fans has resulted in a unique problem in the CPL final.

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It all happened during the fourth over of TKR’s innings when Darren Bravo lofted Roston Chase for a maximum over long-on for a six. While the batsman was happy with the outcome it was a tough time for the Zouks fielder — Mohammad Nabi who had to enter the stands to find the ball.

The search lasted for almost five minutes bringing a halt in play and Nabi was even joined by his fellow teammates but it was all in vain as the fourth umpire came running in to change the ball.

Here is the odd moment –

Meanwhile, batting first, the Zouks put a competitive 154 runs on the board for TKR to chase. In reply, TKR were comfortably placed at 59/2 at the halfway stage.