27 Dec : The unplayable pitch conditions in New Delhi at Feroz Shah Kotla stadium has forced the fifth One-dayer between India and Sri Lanka to be suspended after just 23.3 overs were bowled in the match on Saturday.
The players objected at the nature of dangerous Kotla track where the bounce varied from toe to head after more than a couple of Sri Lankan batsmen were ruffed up by body blows.
Sri Lanka were 83 for five in 23.3 overs with Thilina Kandamby (12) and Muthumudalige Pushpakumara (7) at the crease when the match was stopped.
While the pitch played unsportingly through the morning, it was a delivery from Sudeep Tyagi, that took off from the deck to reach a stretched out Dhoni behind the wickets, which finally held up the proceedings.
The players and match officials came down to the ground to hold discussions on whether the pitch was fit to carry on with the match.The match officials have put down a number of options before the two captains, including a re-match or an exhibition to make sure that the Delhi crowd does get a game to witness.
The alarming bells began to ring with the uneven bounce as the ball bounced ferociously off the deck a number of times and made it dangerous for the batsmen to continue.In the 10th over of the match, opener Tillakaratne Dilshan was in serious pain when a Nehra delivery took off from just back of the length and struck the batsman on his forearm.
The opener dropped onto his knees and threw away his bat in deep pain raising doubts on whether the cracks on pitch could make it dangerous for the batsmen.
With over an hour’s delay and no play, the crowd has already gone wild and many of them have vacated the stadium.
