Thousands bowled out
HERALD CORRESPONDENT
MARGAO, OCT 24
The dreams of 27,000 spectators vanished into thin air after the India-Australia ODI was called off without a single ball being bowled due to a damp outfield at Nehru stadium on Sunday.
With the abandonment of the ODI, the second of the three match series, Australia returned home without winning a single game on Indian soil. The first ODI at Kochi was washed out and India won the second by five wickets in Vizakhapatnam on October 20.
A damp outfield caused by overnight rains forced the cancellation of the ODI giving the hosts a 1-0 series victory, their first at home in over two decades.
Umpires Billy Bowden and Amish Saheba alongwith match referee, Chris Broad made three ground inspections at 8.30 a.m, 11 a.m. and 12.15 p.m. before deciding to abandon the match. A wet outfield persisted despite the sun shining bright this morning.
In between, team captains, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Michael Clarke came to the ground to have a look at the outfield and were seen having a long chat with the umpires and the match referee. This was the first time that India beat Australia in an ODI series since 1998.
The series win by India is also the first at home in over two decades against Australia. The last time the Aussies had lost an ODI series in India was in 1986-87 when the hosts had won by a 3-2 margin.
Vizag hero Virat Kohli was named man-of-the-series at a function held at Benaulim.
It was sheer disappointment for the thousands of fans as soon as the announcement was made.
The pitch looked perfect but the seepage of rain water through the covers left the outfield damp and slippery. Cricket enthusiasts thronged the stadium early in the morning mostly decked up in blue T-shirts carrying the Indian Tri-Colour as part of the Bleed Blue campaign to support Team India whose players were all set to display the new Nike attire.
This is the second time an ODI had to be called off at Fatorda, the earlier being between India and New Zealand in 1995.
The ground was covered with thick plastic, yet there was seepage on the outfield.
The GCA had earlier pointed out that the entire outfield would be covered with special cover and that there would be no problem even if it rained the previous day-night.
