Why was it not possible to play on the first two days of the Test match between Afghanistan and New Zealand in Greater Noida?

The Greater Noida Authority used traditional tarpaulins to protect the outfield, electric fans to dry out wet areas, borrowed a turf cover from one state unit and a super blowtorch from the other while deploying untrained ground staff. The failure was colossal as it failed to get the second day of play underway in the Test match between Afghanistan and New Zealand. For the second consecutive day, not a single ball could be bowled at the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex, putting the venue under scrutiny and making it an international embarrassment.

The game, the first between the two nations, was scheduled to begin on Monday but was unable to be played as referees cited “player safety” as a concern.

While it did not rain all day, there was a downpour for about an hour on Monday night, which impacted the start of the game on Tuesday, which was scheduled to begin a half-hour earlier than the original 10 a.m. start time.

Although the skies remained clear on Tuesday, the course could not even be prepared for a shortened day of play despite best efforts.

The mid-on and midwicket areas continued to be a cause for concern as the groundsmen were bringing in dry sections of grass from the practice area to “transplant” it into the mid-wicket area.

In addition, three table fans were used to dry patches of grass on the outside while the gardeners continued to work throughout the day.

Officials from the Greater Noida Authority, under which the stadium falls, were also present to supervise the works.

The referees carried out three inspections before suspending play on the second day.

According to stadium officials, there are five super blowtorches: two automatic and three manual. However, only two have been used in total, and that is only infrequently.

If sources are to be believed, the Greater Noida Authority had requested a pair of super socks from the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) and they were sent from their Meerut Stadium for logistical reasons.

Similarly, during the day, the traditional shamiyana (wedding tent) was used to cover the outer field and in the evening, when heavy rains started, tarpaulins were used as DDCA authorities rushed to shift their cover from the outer field from Kotla.

If this was not enough, the Greater Noida Authority did not have enough trained ground staff and apparently used its untrained manpower for the job. While the playing area remained pristine, the outfield was the problem on both days.

The BCCI had given the Afghanistan Cricket Board a few options including Kanpur, Bengaluru and Greater Noida.

However, the ACB opted for Greater Noida for logistical reasons. “The venue has always been home to Afghanistan. If we talk about 2016, we have been playing matches here,” ACB director of international cricket Menhaj Raaz said.

The area has been receiving incessant rain for the past two weeks, which according to the ACB has affected the development of the event.

“It’s because of the rain. It rained yesterday as well. We had a three-day match here with one of the local teams which went well. We didn’t have any problems. But when it started raining and all this happened.” The Afghanistan Cricket Board has hosted 11 white-ball international matches here previously. The only other Indian ground where they have hosted matches is Dehradun.

“We had done a survey four to six months ago and even the visiting team had done theirs. So there was no problem,” Raaz added. The ACB considered moving the match to another venue but the monsoon made that impossible.

“We tried to work on a solution to change the game and we were told that due to the same rain, we will not be able to prepare the venue for the next 24 hours.”

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