Matches affected by rain in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy 2019-20 will be rescheduled, after nearly 17 of the 30 games scheduled in the first three days were abandoned or ended in a no result.
The tournament is being played across four cities – Bengaluru, Dehradun, Jaipur and Vadodara. Matches in Bengaluru and Vadodara, where Groups A and B are playing, have been particularly badly hit. Dehradun, where Group D games are being held, has also been affected, with only Jaipur’s Group C matches progressing as scheduled.
The BCCI is working out a schedule to try and fit in as many of the affected games as possible. “We are working on the rescheduling and it should be done soon,” BCCI general manager Saba Karim told ESPNcricinfo. “We want to have as many matches as possible. Three of the groups were affected, A, B and D due to unseasonal rains, so we’re looking at how to accommodate those. The matches in Jaipur have gone on smoothly.”
ESPNcricinfo understands that there was a meeting between the managers of Group A teams in Bengaluru and BCCI officials, where the matter was discussed, though all teams were not in favour of rescheduling games. However, with the BCCI having taken a call, the fixtures that were affected are likely to get a fresh window.
In the original schedule, there were no games slated for October 2 and October 8, and those days could be used to fill some gaps. Additionally, there are ‘break’ days in each of the four host cities, when no matches will be played for that particular group, and these days could also be used. A Times of India report also said that the end of the league stage could be pushed back. The last day of league matches in Vadodara and Bengaluru – the latter is also the venue for the knockouts – is October 13. Jaipur and Dehradun will have games until October 16. The knockouts start from October 20.
In Bengaluru, the first two days of the competition saw no play at all with six matches washed out. The first Elite Group A match that got underway was between Karnataka and Jharkhand on Thursday, which was the first match of the tournament at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, where the sub-air drainage system makes it possible to for the ground to withstand heavy rainfall and still get a full game in. The other two games on Thursday were scheduled in Alur and Bengaluru, and they, too, eventually got underway and were completed, though both were truncated games.
In Vadodara, there has not been a single result over three days, with nine games either abandoned without a ball being bowled, or mid-way through. There was no play at all on September 24, the opening day. All three matches that were scheduled on the next day began, but all had to be abandoned mid-way, and on Thursday, once again there wasn’t a ball bowled. Dehradun has had one no-result each on both days on which play had been scheduled.
Source: ESPN Crickinfo