Afg Vs NZ

The second day of the one-off Test match between Afghanistan and New Zealand was also called off without a ball being bowled due to a wet outfield at Greater Noida Sports Complex Ground today.

Like Day 1, there was no rain on the second day of the Test, but the city witnessed some overnight downpours.

This triggered a harsh reaction from the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB), which has come down heavily on the facilities provided at the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex, vowing to “never come here again”.

An ACB official was reportedly quoted as per media reports, stating that they were eyeing to shift their preferred venue to Lucknow, as there are “no facilities here”.

While the official claimed that they were assured of the facilities to be at par for hosting the game, the restroom and other amenities at the sports complex were at the centre of criticism from several avenues, including a few media personnel.

A media personality took to social media platform X to describe the conditions and took a dig at the authorities, stating, “Ok so catering here at Greater Noida stadium is using urinal washroom | Water tap for their water needs | very hygienic | #AFGvNZ  TEST”

Multiple inspections were held throughout the day before play was finally called off around 3.04 pm.

Ground staff’s battle to deliver a game

The ground staff had cut a portion of the grass from the practice area and had brought that onto the wet section of the ground but the solution didn’t pay off. The super soppers were at work to make the outfield ready for the play since Day 1.

Many electrical fans were brought in and kept face-down to dry the wet patch of the outfield. But the umpires felt the surface was not safe enough to play.

The New Zealand players reached the ground at 1 pm and had a net session on the strip, beside the main pitch.

The current Test is not part of the World Test Championship but the Kiwis have the opportunity to acclimatise to subcontinental conditions ahead of the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka and India in the coming months.

On the other hand, Afghanistan, who have played two one-off Tests against Sri Lanka and Ireland earlier this year, are in search of their first red-ball win since 2021.

(With inputs from syndicated feed)