Day 4 of Afghanistan-New Zealand Test also washed in rain: Rain continues in Noida since morning, grounds waterlogged; Will be re-inspected tomorrow

The cricket test match between Afghanistan and New Zealand to be played in Greater Noida could not start even on the fourth day. Many parts of Delhi including NCR and Greater Noida have been receiving rain since Thursday morning. The ground at the city center stadium is flooded. For this reason, the umpires have decided to cancel the fourth day's play. Afghanistan Cricket Board sources said that if the weather remains clear, the umpire will inspect the field once again on Friday morning, September 13. After that a decision will be taken whether to cancel the match or not. At the same time, sources associated with the ground say that it is difficult for the ground to dry in the next few days. The previous 3 days of play have been cancelled. So far this is the only Test toss that has not been possible. The Afghanistan Cricket Board said in a press release issued on Wednesday that the third day's play was canceled due to continuous rain. So far, this is the only Test match toss that has not been possible. 3 photos of the stadium… Utensils washed with washroom water, ground dried with fans A day before Tuesday, the Noida stadium was in disarray. The stadium did not have adequate provision for drying the outfield. An attempt was made to dry the soil with an electric fan which failed. The stadium's catering staff were seen washing dishes with washroom water. In such a situation, everyone from the players to the Afghanistan board officials were seen worried. “A lot has gone wrong here,” said an official. We will never come back here. Even our players are not happy with the facilities. The stadium has already been banned since the last international match was played here in March 2017, when the ODI series between Afghanistan and Ireland was played. Later this year in September 2017, match fixing cases in corporate matches came to light, after which the BCCI banned the stadium. This was the reason why the UP Cricket Association did not pay attention to this venue. Currently this ban has been lifted. Continuous rain in Noida for two weeks Greater Noida has been receiving continuous rain for the past two weeks. It rained heavily last night too. The groundsmen were busy repairing the ground with the help of a supercharger. Ibrahim Zadran out of match Afghanistan's opening batsman Ibrahim Zadran has been ruled out of the one-off Test against New Zealand. According to a report, he sprained his left leg after slipping during practice on the first day of the match. After which the cricket officials asked to pay more attention to the outfield. Giving information about this, the Afghanistan Cricket Board said – 'Top order batsman Ibrahim Zadran has been ruled out of the three-match ODI series against Afghanistan against New Zealand and South Africa due to a left leg sprain. New Zealand squads for both teams for one-off Test: Tim Southee (captain), Tom Blundell (wicketkeeper), Michael Bracewell, Devon Conway, Matt Henry, Tom Latham (vice-captain), Daryl Mitchell, Will O'Rourke, Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Ben Sears, Kane Williamson, Will Young. Afghanistan: Hasmatullah Shahidi (capt), Riaz Hasan, Abdul Malik, Rahmat Shah, Bahir Shah Mehboob, Ikram Ali Khil (in wicket), Shahidullah Kamal, Afsar Zazai (in wicket), Azmatullah Omarzai, Zia ur Rehman Akbar, Shams ur Rehman, Qais Ahmed, Zaheer Khan, Nijat Masood, Khalil Ahmed.

Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).