The Greater Noida Sports Complex’s waterlogged outfield prevented Afghanistan and New Zealand from playing their one-off Test for the first two days.
There has been unfavorable press surrounding the one-off Test between Afghanistan and New Zealand. The Greater Noida Sports Complex’s waterlogged outfield prevented the match from taking place throughout the first two days of play. Before play was finally canceled at 3:04 pm on Tuesday, several inspections were conducted throughout the day. Similar to Day 1, there was no rain on the second day of the test, but there were some nocturnal downpours around the city. To dry the wet area of the outfield, numerous electrical fans were brought in and maintained facing downward. However, the umpires believed that the playing surface was not secure enough.
At 1:00 pm, the New Zealand players arrived at the field and engaged in a net practice on the strip that was adjacent to the main pitch.
The Kiwis will have the chance to get used to subcontinental conditions before the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka and India in the next months, even if the current Test is not a part of the World Test Championship.
Amidst all of this, an article in India Today stated that a member of the catering staff was observed cleaning utensils in the restroom, close to a urinal, due to the poor quality of the stadium’s amenities. There were also pictures from the incident in the report. The assessment stated that the dearth of contemporary facilities was rather shocking.
The match, the first between the two countries, was supposed to start on Monday, but the umpires declared that “players safety” was a problem, hence play was canceled.
Although there was no rain during the day, there was an hour-long downpour in the evening, which had an impact on Tuesday’s playtime, which had been scheduled for half an hour earlier than the initial 10am.
On Tuesday, the sky was clear, but the field was still not fit for play.
Because the groundsmen were bringing in dry sections of grass from the practise field, the mid-on and midwicket region continued to be a source of concern.
To further dry up the grass, three table fans were employed.
The third inspection, scheduled at 3 p.m. local time, will be carried out by umpires after the previous two.
