Lucknow, Dec 17 The fourth T20I between India and South Africa was abandoned at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium on Wednesday due to excessive fog leading to poor visibility. Umpires Rohan Pandit and KN Ananthapadmanabhan delayed the toss and conducted multiple inspections, including one at 9:25 pm by looking at the floodlights from the batter's crease, before calling off the game at 9:30 pm local time.
With no play possible in Lucknow, much to the dismay of a lot of enthusiastic fans at the stadium, India remain 2-1 ahead in the five-match series and cannot lose the trophy. The teams will now turn their attention to the fifth and final match scheduled to take place at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Friday.
India vice-captain Shubman Gill will be eager to regain full fitness ahead of Friday’s contest at the place where he has enjoyed prolific success with the bat, including his lone T20I century, and boasts a strong IPL record. But with the opener nursing a foot injury, it raises the likelihood of Sanju Samson featuring in the playing eleven.
The first indications of a possible abandonment of the first T20I to be held in Lucknow in December came when the toss, scheduled for 6:30 pm IST, was initially delayed to 6:50 pm. But with the fog not going away, further inspections were scheduled at 7:30 pm, 8:00 pm, 8:30 pm, and 9:00 pm.
Amidst the inspections, Jasprit Bumrah’s participation in warm-ups provided reassurance after missing the third T20I in Dharamsala due to personal reasons. But with the fog not relenting, players from both sides indulged in warm-up routines but were eventually forced to go indoors, even as the ground staff used a light roller on the pitch.
India’s seam-bowling all-rounder Hardik Pandya was seen wearing a face mask, underlining concerns about the hazardous air quality index, hovering above 400. The fog at the stadium was so thick that spectators were barely able to see the stands situated on the opposite end.
Pandit and Ananthapadmanabhan did some visibility drills during the 8 pm inspection -- one of the umpires held the ball up at the far end of the pitch, while another umpire went to deep midwicket to see if the ball was visible. Once it was clear that the ball wasn’t to be sighted easily, another inspection was lined up.
Even as former players turned broadcasters Robin Uthappa and Dale Steyn moved into the comfort of their studio room, a visibly concerned BCCI vice-president Rajiv Shukla also spoke to the umpires, possibly about the possibility of a shortened contest. But the fog never relented, and it had the final say as match officials finally called off the game.
Questions will be raised over the scheduling of the fixture. What is the peak winter time in North and Central India? For now, ‘smile, you are in Lucknow’ - the familiar tagline of the City of Nawabs – went missing as excessive fog took over the venue, leaving everyone dismayed.
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