India-Sri Lanka one-dayer abandoned over poor pitch

NEW DELHI (India) (AFP) – Unfit pitch conditions at the Ferozeshah Kotla stadium forced the fifth and final one-day international between India and Sri Lanka to be abandoned on Sunday.
Sri Lanka, sent in to bat, were 83-5 in the 24th over when the umpires stopped play after a ball from debutante seamer Sudeep Tyagi bounced alarmingly before going head-high to wicket-keeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Match referee Alan Hurst of Australia called off the game following lengthy discussions with the umpires and local officials, leaving some 40,000 home fans at the stadium angry.
The crowd hurled water bottles on to the field and broke chairs as the TV station broadcasting the game reported that the match had been abandoned. “The decision to abandon the match was taken by myself, in consultation with the umpires and both captains as it was clear that the pitch had extremely variable bounce and was too dangerous for further play,” Hurst said later in a statement.
“I’d like to commend the 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,” Hurst said.
India won the series by a 3-1 margin gained in the previous match, building on the 2-0 success in the preceding Test series which lifted Dhoni’s men to the top of the official Test rankings. Hurst walked to the middle to speak to the umpires when Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara gestured from the sidelines to stop play after what turned out to be the final delivery.
Two Sri Lankan batsmen, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Sanath Jayasuriya, were hit by balls that rose after pitching, while some other deliveries kept low. Former India captain Bishan Bedi, who lives in New Delhi, said he was ashamed at the turn of events and wanted the local Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) to be penalised.