Lahore: Rain played spoilsport in the much-anticipated Champions Trophy fixture on February 28, as Australia and Afghanistan were unable to bat out the full allocation of overs. Ground staff tried their best but managed not to dry out the outfield of Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium in sufficient time. In the end, inningsad to stop the match after just 12.5 overs in the second batting. Even when the rain eased off, they were unable to resume play. leaving the match abandoned. Australia needed this outcome to ensure their position in the semifinals while Afghanistan took a giant hit from it. Fans have also targeted the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) by ridiculing the tournament’s organisation after the cancellation.
After the match was called off, social media was abuzz as a video with ground workers trying to remove the water from the flooded field with house wipers emerged online. The tournament was drawn into controversy immediately after, and the video quickly went viral, which led to criticism of the PCB and the way it conducted the tournament. On social media, fans made fun of the poor drainage and the failure to quickly dry the pitch with modern machinery. This inability to get the games underway on time obviously resulted in the withdrawal of Afghanistan from the tournament, and many rightly attributed the exit directly to this logistical lack.
For the Australia-Afghanistan clash, rain had been an overshadowing threat. Despite the first innings proceeding smoothly, the weather disrupted the game in the 13th over of the second innings, leading to an early halt. However, after a lengthy delay, officials determined that the pitch had too much water to resume the match. On the other hand, some critics say play would have continued if only better infrastructure and proper drying equipment were available.
It’s not the first time weather has disrupted the tournament, however. Earlier, Pakistan vs. Bangladesh and South Africa vs. Australia in Rawalpindi had met similar fates. There were serious questions over the PCB on the back of the constant rain-influenced cancellations of matches, as well as whether the current circumstances are conducive to hosting such big-ticket fixtures.