NEW DELHI: The IPL match between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals on Thursday was abandoned midway due to air raid alerts in the neighbouring cities of Jammu and Pathankot, casting a cloud of uncertainty over the remainder of the tournament. Punjab Kings were in a dominant position at 122 for 1 in 10.1 overs when the lights suddenly went out — initially assumed to be a floodlight malfunction.The game had already started later than scheduled, with growing concerns over the escalating cross-border tensions in the region.As security agencies swung into action, both teams and the packed crowd — around 23,000 spectators at the scenic Dharamsala venue — were safely evacuated from the stadium.Amid the evacuation, several fans were heard chanting anti-Pakistan slogans as panic and anger spread through the stands.Before the abrupt halt, Punjab’s opening pair had provided a fiery start — Prabhsimran Singh was unbeaten on 50 off 28 balls, while Priyansh Arya smashed a quickfire 70 off 34 before falling to pacer T Natarajan.

With the situation tense, players and support staff from both franchises will now be transported to Delhi via a special train arranged from Pathankot, roughly 85 km away from Dharamsala.“We are organising a special train from close to Dharamsala to bring everybody home safely. As of now the match has been called off and the stadium has been evacuated. We will take a call on the tournament’s future depending on the situation tomorrow. As of now, players’ safety is utmost important. The match couldn’t have continued tonight because of the situation. It wasn’t safe,” says BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla.

It is understood that players of both teams have reached their hotel and will now await more information from the Indian cricket board for future course of action. Panic has gripped the IPL at the moment and there was uneasiness amongst players of both DC and PBKS even before the game got underway. Since both teams had reached before the airports were closed, there was no clarity on their departure from the hills.

As panic grips Indian Premier League (IPL) teams, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) could well be left with no option but to halt the ongoing edition of the tournament. The match between Delhi Capitals (DC) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Dharamsala was halted midway today (May 8) due to the rising tension between India and Pakistan, and, at the time of writing, both teams were safely in the team hotel.The entire contingent in Dharamsala will be leaving via a special train tomorrow (Friday, May 9) and the Indian cricket board is right now in a huddle to decide the future course of action.An emergent meeting of the IPL Governing Council is underway at the moment. None of the existing IPL venues have been under any kind of threat as of now. However, the BCCI may have to keep the larger sentiment of the nation in mind and halting the tournament, even if temporarily.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!It is further understood that overseas players of most franchises are in a state of panic and they would need some serious assurances from the BCCI and the Indian government to stay back in the country for the tournament. As of now, there is no clarity over the game in Lucknow tomorrow (between Lucknow Super Giants and Royal Challengers Bengaluru).The Indian cricket board will proceed further based on the directive they get from the Indian government, and all teams will act as per the guidelines they receive. The Gujarat Titans have already reached Delhi for their game against DC on May 11, and Mumbai Indians will be landing in Ahmedabad tonight for their rescheduled fixture in the afternoon of the same day.The players of both DC and PBKS have been uneasy ever since the cross-border tensions escalated this week as they reached Dharamsala before the closure of airports was announced. At this moment, arrangements are being put in place to ensure all players, support staff and members of the broadcast crew are evacuated safely from Dharamsala.