Wet blanket over Bumrah, Dhawan return

That this was the decade’s first 40-over international will add to the ignominy of the ACA Stadium in Barsapara where Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb and Jay Shah, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, were present.

A T20I that was supposed to showcase the venue as being ready for Indian Premier League games this term was abandoned here on Sunday without a ball bowled because of damp patches on the wicket.

Indian spectators leave standing stadium after the match declared abandoned. (AP)

That this was the decade’s first 40-over international will add to the ignominy of the ACA Stadium in Barsapara where Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal, governor Jagdish Mukhi, Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb and Jay Shah, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, were present.

According to Devajit Saikia, secretary, Assam Cricket Association (ACA), the match couldn’t start because of rain. “The official reason is rainfall. There were two spells of heavy showers that didn’t allow the ground to be ready,” he said.

Asked about the patches on the pitch, he said: “I have no idea because I have not spoken to the curator or the groundsmen. Once I speak to them, I will be able to know if there were any lapses.” Later he said: “Maybe the pitch got damp because of heavy shower and water on the cover.” Saikia also said it rained till 9:15pm; however, the covers had come off the square at around 7:50pm.

Even as the crowd—anticipating the worst because the latest the game could start for a five-over-a-side contest was 9:46pm—were waiting for official confirmation, those watching on television got to know at 9:55pm that the game won’t happen. The announcement at the stadium came five minutes later.

Before that the two super soppers had stopped working on the outfield. But the portion of the park that was supposed to stay the driest didn’t look that despite the groundstaff—in the presence of Ashish Bhowmick, head of the Indian board’s panel of curators—using a blower, sponge sheets, steam iron and hair dryers. A match that was supposed to showcase the return of Jasprit Bumrah and Shikhar Dhawan from injury could now have match referee David Boon’s report as its talking point.

At 9:28 pm, field umpires Anil Choudhary and Nitin Menon and fourth umpire Virender Sharma emerged for the fourth and final inspection. They crouched on the pitch, felt it, applied tissue paper to gauge its wetness and walked back looking at their watches. The giant screen at the ground flashed the message of the match being abandoned 30 minutes later.

Around 15 minutes after the 6.30pm toss, which India had won and chosen to field, the drizzle became a sharp shower accompanied by thunderclaps and lightning. The wind tugged and unhinged some advertisement hoardings slung on upper tiers. The rain stopped around 7:45pm. After the covers came off, patches could be seen near the batting crease at the Rolling Mill End. Virat Kohli looked at it and the next inspection scheduled for 8:15pm was pushed back to 9pm.

At 8:04pm, groundstaff got to work on the pitch. They were at it when Kohli, Rishabh Pant and Dhawan came out at 9pm, looked at it and walked to the other end where Boon was sat. They continued tending to the strip after the last scheduled cut-off.