Losing captain Unadkat praises groundsmen for getting venue ready on Day 4
CHENNAI: It was not too long ago that the Afghanistan-New Zealand Test at the Greater Noida Sports Complex Ground was washed out without a ball being bowled even when there was no rain for three days. The Green Park Stadium in Kanpur, the venue of the second India-Bangladesh Test, struggled to fit in two-and-a-half days of cricket despite the rain easing pretty early. But at the Sri Ramakrishna College Ground in Coimbatore, which is not an international venue, things are quite different.
There was a feeling of doom and gloom in the Tamil Nadu camp after heavy rain lashed Coimbatore on Sunday, the third day of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group D match against Saurashtra. The ground resembled a pond on Sunday evening, with water rising to knee level and conditions far from ideal for play to resume on the final day.
While TN feared the worst after putting themselves on the brink of an outright victory - fourth day's play being called off - the groundsmen went out of their way and pulled off the "impossible". The staff put in a five-hour shift after rain subsided at around 6:30 pm and returned to work at 6 am the next day, ensuring an on-time start.
They did an "amazing" job, so much so that Saurashtra captain Jaydev Unadkat did not forget to praise them even after suffering a painful innings defeat. "I was pleasantly amazed at how quickly the groundsmen were able to turn things around after heavy rain on the third evening. After all, it does take more than just good players to be a champion team," Unadkat tweeted.
India's T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav, who played at the venue while turning out for Mumbai in the Buchi Babu tournament in August, also praised the groundsmen. Captioning an image that displayed the vastly-different conditions on the third and fourth days, Suryakumar wrote: "Unbelievable scenes. Things that go unnoticed after a game of cricket. Just wow."
The TNCA curator B Babu, in charge of the ground for the Ranji match, explained to TOI how the staff provided the assist to TN's win. "We encountered similar situations in Coimbatore during the Tamil Nadu Premier League, so the experience came in handy. We had planned how to remove water from the covers. Once the rain stopped on Sunday, we segregated our 15 team members and executed the plan," said Babu.
"We worked until 11:30 pm. We used two motors to drain the water out via available channels. The Coimbatore District Cricket Association provided us manpower, including plumbers, and arranged lorries to help remove water. The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association office-bearers and staff also provided us support."
Babu said that everyone involved worked towards the goal of starting play on time. "Since there was no rain on Sunday night, the outfield dried up to an extent. We began work early on Monday and used super soppers. Many felt that play would not start on time. The BCCI curator Samandar Chouhan told us that we achieved the impossible," said Babu.
