{"id":130397,"date":"2024-09-08T20:42:06","date_gmt":"2024-09-08T20:42:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/09\/08\/weather-ground-conditions-may-play-spoilsport-for-greater-noidas-debut-test-cricket-news-times-of-india\/"},"modified":"2024-09-08T20:42:06","modified_gmt":"2024-09-08T20:42:06","slug":"weather-ground-conditions-may-play-spoilsport-for-greater-noidas-debut-test-cricket-news-times-of-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/09\/08\/weather-ground-conditions-may-play-spoilsport-for-greater-noidas-debut-test-cricket-news-times-of-india\/","title":{"rendered":"Weather, ground conditions may play spoilsport for Greater Noida\u2019s debut Test | Cricket News – Times of India"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Weather,<\/div>\n
GREATER NOIDA: In a significant moment for international cricket, the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathak Cricket Stadium will become the 124th venue, and Noida the 95th city to host an international Test match when Afghanistan lock horns with New Zealand in a one-off Test Monday onwards. The stadium is the 30th ground and Noida the 23rd city in India to host a Test match.
The Afghans are well-acquainted with the Greater Noida stadium, having played five One-Day Internationals (winning three) and six T20 Internationals (five wins) at the venue since 2017.
On Sunday, Noida witnessed incessant rain in the afternoon which saw the groundstaff at the stadium cover the ground \u2013 primarily the playing area \u2013 with blue tarpaulins. The Afghanistan team had trained in the morning, when it didn\u2019t rain, but the New Zealanders weren\u2019t so lucky and didn\u2019t get to practice a day before the Test.
Rain has been a regular and perpetual feature in Greater Noida for the last one week. The forecast is pretty much the same for all five days of the Test match, with an occasional thunderstorm looming large. The Test, therefore, in all likelihood, is going to be a stop-and-start affair with chances of getting abandoned not ruled out completely.
The stadium, managed by local authorities rather than a state cricket association, lacks the advanced equipment and resources typical of other international venues in India.
One could clearly witness that the drainage of the stadium isn\u2019t something to write home about. There are two super-soppers at the stadium, out of which only one was being used to dry the ground. The covers stayed on even after the rain stopped. The groundstaff made attempts to dry the outfield with table fans.
\u201cWe cannot control the rain, just hope that it does not rain during the match and we can enjoy the game,\u201d Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi said.
\u201cThe match referee has the right to take stock of the field conditions and declare them playable or not. As players our job is to go on the field and play. We are hoping for clear weather and the game to take place,\u201d New Zealand skipper Tim Southee said.
It\u2019ll be interesting to see how the Test match progresses, as much-superior grounds across the world, equipped with all the modern facilities, take a lot more to hit the ground running.<\/div>\n