The umpires decided the outfield at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium was unfit for play within an hour of the scheduled start of play. Despite no rain in the city, the officials decided against having the third and final Twenty20 International between India and Australia in Hyderabad and left the 30000 odd fans disappointed.
The two captains Virat Kohli and David Warner, umpires and match officials decided that no play could be possible because of a soft outfield. Hyderabad has seen a lot of rain over the past few days due to which the outfield was constantly wet. The weather has been so overcast and cloudy over the past week or so due to which the sun itself did not come out.
Due to this, in an unusual attempt to dry the outfield, three pedestal fans propped up by plastic chairs were aimed at a particularly wet patch on Thursday. The ground staff worked tirelessly in the hours preceding the match but were unable to get the ground ready in time. The outfield was in such poor condition that the ball itself was sticking into the ground.
Both the players and officials found it hard to walk on the ground. With this result, the three-match T20I series ended 1-1 sharing the trophy with two teams. Hyderabad, which is the home of former IPL champions Sunrisers Hyderabad, had its first-ever T20I ruined by a wet outfield.
The Hyderabad fans were however disappointed and the Indian players left no stones to disappoint their fans and did this.
When there wasn’t anything to cheer for the crowd in waiting at the wet Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Friday, the left-handed batting of Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, and Rohit Sharma ensured those in the stands didn’t go home without being entertained.
However, the fans lashed out at BCCI for their scheduling and not having reserve days for the decider. They were also fumed over the drainage facility of the ground as the earlier matches in Chennai and Ranchi started in time despite rain falling during the match.
The fans went on lashing out at BCCI for selecting only rainy venues out of the 49 available in the country. A few even demanded the refund for the spectators with interest. The trophy was shared by both the teams.
Twitter Reactions:
Eden Gardens covered. May be BCCI can buy some covers like this for the stadium in Hyderabad. #IndvAus pic.twitter.com/nTP2yW4kOo
— Prabhu 🏏 (@Cricprabhu) October 13, 2017
No rain for 24 hr still the ground was wet. This is sheer ignorance of ground person, @BCCI should definitely look into this mtr.#INDvAUS
— Pankaj (@PankyMe) October 13, 2017
2rs ka infrastructure,Stadium maintenance poor management @BCCI #INDvAUS
— SAURAV (@imsaurav55) October 13, 2017
Bad decision by @BCCI! #INDvAUS
— CricketIndia (@CricketIndia99) October 13, 2017
Occupancy in #HCA ground was 29,851 @ESPNcricinfo. @BCCI should refund spectators with interest. #INDvAUS @DrGVivekanand
— Mazahir (@TheQambar) October 13, 2017
@BCCI out of 49 venues in India, selectively all rainy destinations were chosen for t20 #INDvAUS
— Vikrant Yadav (@vikrant235029) October 13, 2017
Bad scheduling. Whn monsoons stay in South till 15th Oct how could they schedule match in Hyd? Could have played it in North India #INDvAUS
— Uttarabhadra (@SaysItSo) October 13, 2017
Such a poor drainage system forcing series decider to call of evn being no rain since afternoon@BCCI #INDvAUS
— Deepak goduhan (@goduhandk) October 13, 2017
#HCA has poor Infrastructure. Administrators with no sports sense are ruining the beautiful game of cricket. Shame on @BCCI ! 👎 #INDvAUS
— Mazahir (@TheQambar) October 13, 2017
A game called off for wet outfield without any rain during match, says a lot about the need for modern state of art in stadiums. #INDvAUS
— jigar mehta (@jigsactin) October 13, 2017
Whereas the Men in Blue will take on New Zealand in a 3-match ODI series and a 3-match T20I series at home which begins on October 22. Following the New Zealand series, India will take on Sri Lanka in three Tests, three ODIs, and three T20Is which begins on 16 November.
India’s extended home season will finally end at the beginning of 2018 when India will travel to South Africa for three Tests, six ODIs, and three T20Is.