‘Match should have been played in afternoon’: Fans react after fourth T20I called off due to dense fog

Lucknow, Dec 18 (IANS) The abandonment of the fourth T20I between India and South Africa in Lucknow due to dense fog sparked frustration among spectators, who felt the match should have been scheduled in the afternoon to avoid visibility issues caused by the winter season in northern and central India.

At the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, on-field umpires Rohan Pandit and K.N. Ananthapadmanabhan conducted six inspections, where the fog got worse as the evening progressed and AQI levels neared 400, before the game was called off.

“We wanted to win in the beginning, but the match didn’t happen. I wanted to see Shubman Gill, but he wasn’t there playing,” said a young boy to IANS outside the stadium.

Another fan asked for the abandoned game to be rescheduled. “The public waited for a long time, including till the end, for the match to happen. Yes, it’s a disappointment. We want this match to be rescheduled.”

Interestingly, on Wednesday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) had issued an orange alert for ‘very dense fog’ in 13 districts of eastern and central Uttar Pradesh. It also issued a yellow alert for dense fog in 27 districts from the eastern to western parts of the state.

The BCCI Vice-President Rajeev Shukla, who holds significant influence in the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Stadium (UPCA), did have a chat with the umpires, but that didn’t force the fog to go down.

Once the match was abandoned, there was huge criticism over the game’s scheduling at this time of the year from the BCCI’s Tours and Fixtures Committee.

“I want to say that today’s weather prediction is so accurate that we already know what the weather will be like for the day. If we knew this, we could have seen this played as a match in the afternoon. It could have been held from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. If it had been played in the day, we wouldn’t have had this problem.

“All the people who have been disappointed today because of the match cancellation, it wouldn’t have happened if they had planned for it to happen in the afternoon, and it would have happened easily. There is no fog in the afternoon, and everyone would have come,” said another fan to IANS.

He responded affirmatively to whether hosting the game in winter in Lucknow was an error. “Yes, this is a mistake. They should pay attention to this because people come from far and buy tickets with their hard-earned money. The biggest thing for everyone is emotion with the Indian team. Due to this emotion, it hurts everyone, and the biggest thing is this.

“I don’t want to get angry. Everyone’s safety is important. The safety of our players is very important. We don’t want anyone to get hurt or injured. But we want them to know this beforehand. Everything is already known in the forecast. Accordingly, they should have played the match in the afternoon,” he concluded.

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