Challenger final called off after rain leaves its mark

AHMEDABAD, OCT 18: Though it was warm and sunny all day, the final of the NKP Salve Challenger Cup cricket tournament between India A and...

AHMEDABAD, OCT 18: Though it was warm and sunny all day, the final of the NKP Salve Challenger Cup cricket tournament between India A and India B was abandoned without a ball being bowled at the Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium, Motera here today. The damage done by rains in the past was so severe that the day-long mopping and sawdust sprinkling were of no help.

The scenario meant, India A and India B were declared joint winners and they shared the prize money of Rs 2.5 lakh. The third team in the tournament India Seniors got Rs 50,000. Thus it meant only the opening match of the tournament was played on Thursday in which India A defeated the India Senior by just one run.

After two days of overcast conditions and unseasonal rains, the clouds cleared today and it raised hopes of a dry end to the event. Even the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jaywant Lele, while announcing the team for the Dhaka Mini-World Cup sounded positive when he said, "the chances of curtailed matches taking placewere high."

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But despite the ground staff leaving no stone unturned to enable some action to get going, the soggy patches around the outfield failed to dry up. At last at 6:30 p.m. the umpires, after their final inspection called off the match and the tournament.

If play was held today, Venkatesh Prasad was supposed to lead the India A team as Ajay Jadeja had left late on Saturday as his mother was ill.

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