The smog cover at Feroz Shah Kotla due to which the Ranji Trophy clash between Bengal and Gujarat was called off on Sunday. Image Source: twitter[/caption]Internet Desk: The Ranji Trophy Group A clash between table toppers Gujarat and Bengal was called off on Sunday following the smog cover at Feroz Shah Kotla. The umpires along with match referee in consultation with BCCI, decided to call off the match on Day 2 at 4 pm. The first day was also cancelled due to the same reason. Another Ranji Trophy Group C match involving Tripura and Hyderabad as the Karnail Singh Stadium was also called off.
The severity of air pollution and dense Smog cover in the capital prompted the umpires to take such a decision at the Kotla. The Bengal team will be staying back in the capital to fly to Rajkot after a couple of days to play their next match against Tamil Nadu while Gujarat will be leaving for Ahmedabad. The Bengal –Gujarat tie will now be re-scheduled as per the Board of Control for Cricket in India.
While poor light has been a reason for play being called off, it's a rarity that players from both teams complain of burning eyes and breathing problem even when the light had considerably improved for an hour in the afternoon.
The post-Diwali smog, leading to low visibility and poor air quality, led to multiple inspections but health of the players was paramount for the match officials.
On Day 1, at Kotla, both Manoj Tiwary and Parthiv Patel went out for toss but match referee P Ranganathan along with umpires Virender Sharma and Krishnamachari Bharathan decided against it.
Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary said the players felt that they could not play amid such a dense smog even before the start of the game. It was a new experience for Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary who have not encountered such a situation in his 11 years of first class cricket.
According to Manoj, "This is something unbelievable in my 11 years of first-class cricket. The situation is so bad that one can't see anything as we go back from Kotla to our team hotel. You can't spot cars and buses from a distance. The government must step in and do something about it. The health of the common man is paramount and you simply can't breathe polluted air."
Asked about the next match in Delhi against Madhya Pradesh, Tiwary said: "I know it will be an important match in the group league phase. I don;t know whether there will be a
rescheduling of venue or not. I need to speak to our coach Sairaj Bahutule and take a call."
Since they lost out on a match, the skipper wants to get back to practise by day after tomorrow.
"Tomorrow we are travelling back to Kolkata and will take rest. But we have hardly done anything I don't want myself or the team to relax. We are playing a formidable Tamil Nadu team in the next match. We need to hit the nets from Tuesday. We will train for two days and then travel to Rajkot. The intensity and momentum that we have gathered from the past three games can't let it to go abegging."
Match Referee P Ranganathan added: "This is something no one can do anything about. We have informed BCCI about situation. It's difficult to shift matches."
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