The first day of the Test match between Afghanistan and New Zealand was washed out due to damp conditions. Not a single drop of rain fell on Monday but still not a single ball could be bowled. The Afghanistan team and officials were unhappy with the preparations at the Greater Noida Stadium and an ACB official even said that he would never want to return to the ground.
Angry players-coach
ACB official upset with bad drainage system, wet outfield and pathetic facilities at Shaheed Vijaysinh Pathik Sports Complex said there is a lot of disorder, players are upset with the facilities here. He said the players would never come back here.
The entire ground is not suitable for playing matches
Usually only a part of the ground gets wet after rain, but the Greater Noida Stadium ground saw wet patches at many places. According to the report, the umpires inspected the field six times throughout the day. Several New Zealand players including captain Tim Southee, all-rounder Mitchell Santner and Rachin Ravindra also came to inspect the ground. But water was a concern at mid-on and mid-wicket, while there were several patches inside the 30-yard circle as well.
Late use of Super Sopers
The use of super supers at the Greater Noida Stadium was also delayed. According to the report, its use started after 1 pm. Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott looked very unhappy with the whole arrangement. Due to which the practice of both the teams was also affected. Ground staff used table fans to dry the ground for the Afghanistan training session. The toss has now been fixed at 9 am from Tuesday and the remaining four days will have 98-over games which will start at 9.30 am instead of 10 am.
The match was last played in 2016
This stadium in Greater Noida has not played any matches under BCCI for quite some time. The last time a Duleep Trophy match was played at this ground was in 2016. However, it was banned by the BCCI in September 2017 due to match fixing during corporate matches. Since then no BCCI related match has been organized here.
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