Disappointment continued at the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Stadium in Greater Noida as the second day of the one-off Afghanistan vs New Zealand Test was called off due to a wet outfield. The heavy showers on Monday evening dampened the outfield so much that despite trying out multiple methods, the groundsmen couldn’t make the conditions playable.
The inclement weather conditions exposed the stadium’s substandard facilities, deeming it unfit to host a multi-day international fixture. Every possible measures were taken to dry the wet patches – supersopers, foam sheets, table fans. When none of these methods yielded a satisfactory results, the ground staff came with the newest idea of replacing the grass patches with the fresh ones dug out from the practice arena. But all these steps didn’t please the match officials.
After conducting three inspections, at 9:00 hrs, 12:00 hrs and 15:00 hrs, the officials finally called off the day.
New Zealand’s Day Out!
The Kiwis looked to add some colours to dull picture by carrying out a training session a 1 PM. The nets were set while Kane Williamson padded up to face the likes of Ajaz Patel, Matt Henry and Glenn Phillips.
Next in the line to bat was Tom Latham who misjudged a Matt Henry delivery and left it only to be cleaned up. The moment the ball hit the stumps, the crowd cheered for Henry loud to which the pacer waved his hands.
The likes of Daryl Mitchell and Rachin Ravindra also had a gig while newly-appointed spin consultant Rangana Herath too was in action in the nets.
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