Cyclone Akash closes door on final ODI

Chittagong, May 15: The ODI series that began with a bang ended in a whimper after Cyclone Akash left the ground conditions unfit for the game to proceed here today.

The hurricane that lashed coastal Chittagong this morning left its splinter effects on the city proper with gale winds and torrents pouring in bouts since last night. The stadium was itself unscathed, but the ground too soggy for any kind of recovery.

India has already clinched the series 2-0 and the abandoned match has no effect on the fate of the series.

The pitch was under heavy covers since last night and after three sets of inspections at 9.20 am, 12 noon and 1 pm, the match was called off.

Umpire Emanuel Haq later said, ''The ground is too wet for a game to happen. It will take at least two hours to dry up. So the match has been called off as it would mean inadequate time to hold the game in any format.'' Match refree Roshan Mahanama accompanied the umpires and captains on the second and third inspections and all were unanimous that the game could not begin. The other umpire for the match was Ashoka D'silva.

Earlier, the met office issued a seventh grade alert on Chittagong, Kox Bazar and St Martin island as they located Cylone Akash advancing towards the land with fears of high tidal waves. A strong wind carried it further south towards Myanmar, but the storm did leave its splinter effects on the city. While part of the city was submerged, the stadium itself bore its brunt. A water tank atop the media block came crashing down, as did the makeshhift stands of NeoSports. Another canopy top on the main pavallion along with a bamboo structure crashed on the fibre cables meant to give internet support to the media box and connections snapped.

The links could be restored only after two hours of hard work.

Meanwhile, the ground staff worked diligently to restore the ground conditions. The super-soppers came into action overtime as did the small moppers. As the work progressed under the supervision of curator Shaiful Alam Belal, the umpires began their inspections.

Around 15,000 spectators had been queuing up outside the stadium from the morning braving the gale wind and intermittent showers.

However, a few sharp spells again made sure that no further chance of holding the match came into picture. The match was finally called off at 1 pm local time even as the crowd moved out dejected but calm.

UNI