Snake on a field: Reptile greets Harmanpreet & co during practice ahead of World Cup match vs Pakistan

Members of the Indian women's cricket team were surprised by a smake on Friday evening when they were training at Colombo's R Premadasa Stadium ahead of their World Cup match against Pakistan on Sunday.

Harmanpreet Kaur and her team were practising at the centre wicket, and when they began walking towards the nets, a greyish-brown snake was spotted crawling along the drains.

The reptile in question is a rat snake, which is non-poisonous and survives on hunting its favourite rodent.

"It's not venomous. It doesn't bite. It's a Garandiya, just looking for rats," PTI quoted a groundsman as saying.

This is not the first time such a snake has been spotted at the Premadasa Stadium. They were also seen during the Lanka Premier League, and also once during a Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh ODI match in early 2025.

India and Pakistan have a huge gap in quality when it comes to women's cricket. While the two countries have played 27 times in women's internationals across formats, India hold a 24-3 advantage, with Pakistan's three wins coming only in T20 cricket. In ODIs, India have a 100 per cent record, winning all 11 matches between the two sides.

Both teams began their World Cup campaigns in contrasting fashion. While India defeated Sri Lanka by 59 runs, Pakistan collapsed against Bangladesh, losing by seven wickets in a match where they struggled against both pace and spin. India currently occupy the fourth spot after all teams have played a game each.

The Women in Blue will eye the opportunity to boost their net run rate, which becomes crucial at the fag end of the tournament. Harmanpreet Kaur and Co. will head into the fixture high on confidence. The squad depth was on full display in the opener when despite staring down the barrel at 124 for 6, the lower middle order rose to the occasion putting up a 250 plus target in 47 overs.

With PTI inputs