RSWS 2022: India Legends match against New Zealand abandoned due wet outfield in last match of Indore leg

Indore, September 19: The Indore leg of the Road Safety World Series 2022 ended on a disappointing note as match number 12 between India Legends and New Zealand Legends here at Holkar Stadium was called off due to the wet outfield on Monday (September 19).

What started like a light drizzle turned into a heavy shower in a few minutes and forced the stoppage of play for nearly two hours. The wet outfield made it unfit for play to be held and the match officials took the call to call off the game after a thorough inspection of the ground. The points were shared between the two teams.

India Legends captain Sachin Tendulkar along with his fellow teammates took a lap around the ground to acknowledge the spectators at the stadium, which was packed to capacity.

Earlier in the day, New Zealand skipper Ross Taylor won the toss and elected to field first against the hosts. Shane Bond drew the first blood for New Zealand by dismissing Naman Ojha for 18.

Tendulkar, however, entertained the fans with his batting effort. The master blaster's first boundary of the match was his trademark back foot punch towards the cover region. The right-handed batter even played a paddle sweep as the ball sailed over the wicketkeeper's head for a maximum. He was batting on 19 not out off 13 balls when the play stopped. He smashed four boundaries in his knock.

Suresh Raina got a reprieve at 7 when the fielder put down a sitter at mid-on off Hamish Bennett in the final over of the powerplay. The skies opened up a few balls later. India's scorecard read 49/1 in 5.5 overs when the play was stopped for more than two hours due to the heavy downpour.

Though the ground staff worked swiftly to make it match-ready once it stopped raining but there were a few dark patches on the ground making it impossible to play.

Later, in a warm gesture before exiting the ground, India Legends posed for a photograph with the ground staff and acknowledged their contribution.

Indore you were awesome and special thanks to the groundsmen for putting in an extraordinary effort to make the ground ready, something’s are not in our control! 🙏 pic.twitter.com/27pJGJJGox
— Suresh Raina🇮🇳 (@ImRaina) September 19, 2022