Ace India spinner R Ashwin lauded the Sri Lankan groundsmen at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo for trying innovative things to dry the ground as rain played spoilsport in the India vs. Pakistan Super 4s stage Asia Cup 2023 match on September 10.
Earlier, Pakistan won the toss and invited India to bat first, and after a wonderful 121-run opening partnership between Rohit Sharma (56) and Shubman Gill (58), the Men in Green managed to pull things back.
India had reached their 100 in the 14th over, but when the rains came down in the 25th over, they were 147/2 with KL Rahul and Virat Kohli at the crease.
Despite the rain coming to a halt after a lengthy delay, the ground had a lot of wet patches as the downpour was sudden taking the groundsmen with surprise as well.
The hardworking people were seen using big sponges to soak up the water from important areas near the pitch and the bowler’s run-up.
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However, when the umpires came out for their first inspection a huge area near the pitch was still damp and, in an attempt, to dry it as soon as possible, the groundsmen improvised by bringing out three fans on a wheelbarrow set up to dry the dampness quickly.
Indian spinner R Ashwin shared the photo of the contraption and lauded them for the innovation.
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Meanwhile, as the umpires conveyed their concerns to the captains of both teams and later came out for their second round of inspection, the skies opened up again.
Seeing the rain, the officials decided to take the game to the reserve day on September 11 and the match will resume with India at 147/2 in 24.1 overs.
