Ranji Trophy MP vs Kar | Day two gets abandoned without a ball being bowled

2024-25 Ranji Trophy match at Holkar Stadium abandoned due to rain, leaving ground unplayable despite efforts to dry it.

The 2024-25 Ranji Trophy started early to escape the ruinous winter fog. Little did it expect late monsoon rain to wreck the best-laid plans.

On Saturday at the Holkar Stadium, day two of the Madhya Pradesh-Karnataka Elite Group-C match was abandoned without a ball being bowled after overnight rain — a paltry 4mm according to the Indian Meteorological Department but many times more in the eyes of the public — rendered the ground unplayable.

The bowlers’ run-up area at both ends were particularly in bad shape, and despite moderately clear skies and good sunshine through the day, they remained soggy and slippery.

The episode comes close on the heels of another important centre Kanpur being in the dock for its failure to restart play for two full days in the recently concluded Test series against Bangladesh.

While Indore has seen unseasonal rains over the past few days, a few locals and a couple of former office-bearers The Hindu spoke to claimed that much of the infrastructure — like more sheets to cover the ground — was moved to Gwalior, about 500km away, for last Sunday’s T20I versus Bangladesh and had only returned on Saturday.

Rohit Pandit, the Chief Administrative Officer of the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association, however, said that it was not the case. “We generally don’t cover the whole ground for domestic matches, but only internationals. Whatever was necessary we had them ready. It rained until 4.30 a.m. but we are assessing why we couldn’t start the game.”

The groundstaff tried every trick in the book. Super-soppers were used in the morning and they even tied exhaust fans, which are generally used in bathrooms to suck out moisture, between the rungs of a ladder and mounted the whole set-up on to a push cart with two small wheels.