Match abandoned because of dangerous pitch
Monday, 28 December 2009
DELHI, Dec 27 (Cricinfo): It was surprising that it took them 23.3 overs to call off play because of dangerous conditions. On a Kotla pitch where the bounce - from similar lengths - varied from shin to shoulder in as short a spell as three deliveries, Sri Lanka had reason to be thankful that they got away with just two hits on the body that needed attention.
At around 11.20am, one length delivery from the debutant Sudeep Tyagi reared up to almost clear MS Dhoni behind the stumps. The Sri Lankan batsmen had had enough by then. Kumar Sangakkara, dismissed already, and Mahela Jayawardene, out because of a groin injury, were seen waving from outside the boundary, and lengthy discussions ensued.
As a result, Feroz Shah Kotla's prospects of hosting World Cup matches in 2011 hung in the balance. The ICC's latest code of conduct regarding poor pitches states that a first such breach should be met with "a suspension of the venue's international status for a period of between 12 and 24 months together with a directive for appropriate remedial action and the need for prior ICC re-accreditation as an international venue".
Sunil Gavaskar didn't seem too pleased with what he saw during his pitch report. He described the uneven sprinkling of grass on the pitch as a "hair transplant" with bald patches. When the ball hit the grassy areas it seamed and bounced, from the bald patches it died along the ground. What made it difficult for the batsmen was that the lengths from where the ball behaved so drastically different were not too far apart from each other. The moisture didn't help either.
Match abandoned after 23.3 oversSri Lanka 83 for 5 (Jayasuriya 31, Zaheer 2-31) v India.
At around 11.20am, one length delivery from the debutant Sudeep Tyagi reared up to almost clear MS Dhoni behind the stumps. The Sri Lankan batsmen had had enough by then. Kumar Sangakkara, dismissed already, and Mahela Jayawardene, out because of a groin injury, were seen waving from outside the boundary, and lengthy discussions ensued.
As a result, Feroz Shah Kotla's prospects of hosting World Cup matches in 2011 hung in the balance. The ICC's latest code of conduct regarding poor pitches states that a first such breach should be met with "a suspension of the venue's international status for a period of between 12 and 24 months together with a directive for appropriate remedial action and the need for prior ICC re-accreditation as an international venue".
Sunil Gavaskar didn't seem too pleased with what he saw during his pitch report. He described the uneven sprinkling of grass on the pitch as a "hair transplant" with bald patches. When the ball hit the grassy areas it seamed and bounced, from the bald patches it died along the ground. What made it difficult for the batsmen was that the lengths from where the ball behaved so drastically different were not too far apart from each other. The moisture didn't help either.
Match abandoned after 23.3 oversSri Lanka 83 for 5 (Jayasuriya 31, Zaheer 2-31) v India.