India’s 2024 South Africa tour kicked off with an unusual incident. During the first T20I, as the players lined up for the national anthem, India’s ‘Jana Gana Mana’ began playing but abruptly stopped midway. While TV viewers initially assumed it was a technical issue from the broadcaster’s end, the noise of the crowd and the voices of the Indian players singing made it clear that the anthem had halted unexpectedly.
India’s National Anthem Interrupted Due to Technical Issues in Durban
Captain Suryakumar Yadav was seen smiling at the mishap, but he and the rest of the Indian players continued singing ‘Jana Gana Mana’ proudly without any musical accompaniment. Just as the players finished singing the national anthem on their own, the anthem started playing again from where it had previously stopped. The players quickly resumed their anthem stance and proudly joined in once more.
Fortunately, this time the anthem played without interruption, and South Africa’s anthem followed smoothly. The incident was likely due to a technical glitch. However, some netizens did not take it lightly and perceived it as a sign of disrespect towards India.
Technical issues while playing India national anthem at South Africa #INDvSA pic.twitter.com/zERCrEi3DV
— Mr.Perfect 🗿 (@gotnochills007) November 8, 2024
Speaking of the match, South Africa won the toss and chose to bowl first. Sanju Samson gave India a blazing start. He scored 107 runs which led India to post a mammoth total of 202 runs. This marked Sanju Samson’s back-to-back hundred, as he had scored 111 runs against Bangladesh in the previous match. With this, Sanju Samson became the first Indian cricketer to score back-to-back centuries in T20I cricket.
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When this article was posted, South Africa had yet to begin their chase. However, with a total of over 200 runs, India seemed to be the favorite to win the series opener. India is scheduled to play three more T20I matches during this tour, in Gqeberha, Centurion, and Johannesburg on November 10, 13, and 15, respectively.