Sadly, because play was impossible for five days, the historic first-ever Test match between Afghanistan and New Zealand had to be abandoned. On Friday, September 13, Day 5, the spectators would have hoped to witness some cricket action after the first four days of the Test match witnessed almost nothing. Nevertheless, the umpires were forced to cancel the game without tossing because of persistent rain at the Greater Noida Sports Complex Ground.
Because of the damage caused by the overnight rain, the ground crew had to work very hard over the first two days of the Test match to dry off the various moist places on the pitch. Eventually, the game could not start due to inadequate drainage infrastructure at the venue. In the meantime, weather forced the cancellation of Days 3 and 4 of the Test match. A similar narrative played out on Day 5, when the match authorities were forced to call off what would have been a historic Test match due to the unceasing rain.
“The match officials have cancelled the fifth and final day of the Afghanistan vs. New Zealand test due to the persistent rains that are occurring in Greater Noida.”
On Friday, Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) released an update. Numerous concerns were already being voiced regarding the ground infrastructure and ACB’s schedule. There will be an increasing number of difficult questions once Day 5 was also abandoned. For Afghanistan in cricket terms, this would have been just their tenth Test match. Red-ball matches are uncommon for the Blue Tigers, so this was a unique chance to put their abilities to the test against the previous World Test Champions.
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But starting on Wednesday, September 18, they will have to turn their attention to a three-match ODI series in the UAE against South Africa. New Zealand would have gained some valuable experience from this one-off Test match in the interim before their red-ball assignments against Sri Lanka and India. Now, on September 18, the Kiwis will travel to Galle to play a two-match Test series against Sri Lanka. Tim Southee and company will play a three-match Test series in India in mid-October following this series.
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