The first unofficial One-Day International between India A and Australia A in Kanpur on Tuesday ended up a damp squib as rain forced an abandonment without a single delivery being bowled.
The Green Park and its drainage system came under the scanner last year during India’s Test against Bangladesh, when brief spells of rain led to entire days of play getting washed out. Poor draining measures meant only 35 overs of play were possible over the first three days.
On Tuesday, however, the obsolete set up avoided a similar scrutiny with the rain never relenting.
But, that the teams had left the ground much before the official announcement came was telling of the fact that this contest’s fate was sealed when the heavens opened up roughly 20 minutes before the coin toss.
The call-off also brought curtain down on left-handed batter Priyansh Arya and pacer Simarjeet Singh’s time in this India A squad. The two will cede their spots for players returning from the Asia Cup – Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Arshdeep Singh, and Harshit Rana – for the remaining games.
The outcome was a let down for the audience too, which wanted a glimpse of the first List A game at the venue since 2017. A section even hung around for longer than the teams before getting its hopes quashed.
The second ODI will be played on Friday at the same venue.
Published on Sep 30, 2025
