NEW DELHI — A dangerous pitch led to the abandonment of Sunday's fifth and final limited-overs international between India and Sri Lanka, leading to crowd unrest and immediate recriminations for Indian officials.
Sent in to bat first, Sri Lanka had crumbled to 83-5 on the difficult Kotla pitch before the third delivery of the 24th over, from India's rookie paceman Sudeep Tyagi, rose dangerously and flew past the face of batsman Thilina Kandamby.
It proved the last straw for Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara, who complained to match referee Alan Hurst and onfield umpires Marais Erasmus and Shavir Tarapore, and players left the field.
As discussions continued between match officials and local organizers outside the boundary, spectators shouted slogans and abuse at the organizers.
Baton-wielding police were called in to clear the stands of spectators, some of whom had vented their anger by smashing chairs. The teams were whisked away from the stadium before the abandonment was announced more than an hour after the suspension.
"The decision to abandon the match was taken by myself, in consultation with the onfield umpires and both captains as it was clear that the pitch had extremely variable bounce and was too dangerous for further play," Hurst said in a statement.
"I'd like to commend the on-field umpires and captains for continuing as long as they did in the hope that the pitch may settle down. Unfortunately, this did not happen. Before abandoning the match, consideration was given to shifting the match to a secondary pitch. However, it was deemed impractical as the secondary pitch was not adequately prepared."
Later Sunday, confronted with mounting criticism, the Indian cricket board scrapped its pitches panel.
"The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has disbanded its grounds and pitches committee with immediate effect," cricket board secretary Narainswamy Srinivasan said in a statement.
Srinivasan did not say if the BCCI would take action against New Delhi's cricket association, but local organizing committee chief Arun Jetlie apologized to fans.
"We deeply regret and offer our sincere apologies, this is a serious matter that we will inquire," said Jetlie, president of the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) and a vice-president of the Indian cricket board.
Copyright © 2009 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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