Despite the writings were clear on the wall, some diehard cricket enthusiasts turned up to Barabati Stadium here on Saturday morning only to return home disheartened when the words officially tinkle in that the much-awaited India-Australia ODI here is called off due to unplayable ground conditions even without the players turning up to the Stadium.
The umpires inspected the ground around 11am and informed the match referee that the outfield is extremely damaged and unplayable. Getting it officially confirmed from the match referee Roshan Mahanama, the Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) secretary Asirbad Behera with a choked voice informed the media around 11.30am that the day-night tie, the stadium got to host almost after two years, has been cancelled.
This is for the second time that an India-Australia tie here was abandoned due to bad whether. The Odisha cricket enthusiasts had also lost a similar opportunity in 1996. “We were hopeful that the match would be possible here today as it did not rain in the morning (for the first time during last five days). But incessant rains for almost over 100 hours in the past had already ruined the ground beyond recovery,” said a spectator, who had turned up here hoping against hope.
With rains playing spoilsport, the Barabati fans are also deprived of seeing another foreign team in action as the BCCI has shifted the scheduled three-day practice match here between visiting West Indies and Uttar Pradesh to Mumbai.