Afghanistan vs New Zealand one-off Test set to be abandoned without a ball bowled

While the fourth day’s play was called off due to incessant rain and a wet outfield at the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Stadium, the match officials decided to wait until Friday morning to take a decision.

The Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Stadium outfield under covers. | Photo Credit: R V MOORTHY/The Hindu

The one-off Test between Afghanistan and New Zealand is set to be abandoned without a ball being bowled.

While the fourth day’s play was called off due to incessant rain and a wet outfield at the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Stadium, the match officials decided to wait until Friday morning to assess the conditions and take a decision.

However, late on Thursday, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) issued a statement saying that the head coaches of both the teams will address the media at 9 AM IST on Friday, which will be followed by a trophy presentation.

READ: AFG vs NZ Test: ‘Neither rain nor ground management in our control,’ says dejected Afghanistan skipper Shahidi

This will be the eighth time in the history of Test cricket when a match will be called off without a single ball being bowled. The last time such an incident happened was in 1998 when India’s away fixture against New Zealand in Dunedin was abandoned on the third day and an unofficial one-dayer was played on the fourth day.

This was supposed to be Afghanistan’s 10th Test since making its red-ball debut in 2018.

Incidentally, the venue, hosting its first Test, came under the scanner for lacking facilities and basic drainage.

After drawing flak for failing to get the game underway for the first couple of days despite it being sunny, the stadium authorities and the ACB brought covers from the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, while the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association sent super soppers to get the ground back in shape.

But with heavy rain leading to water-logging in some parts of the venue, it was not possible for the groundsmen to get things back in shape.