On This Day Cricket 25 December: Christmas Day, the year was 1997. An ODI match was to be played between India and Sri Lanka, but the match was cancelled after 18 balls were played.

A cricket match can be cancelled for a variety of reasons. Rain, a storm, angry fans storming the field, or the lights failing. A match can be declared abandoned for any number of reasons. But would you believe it if we were to say that the pitch was so dangerous that the match was called off out of fear?

Dangerous pitch, match cancelled

Yes, this incident happened in 1997, when a match was abandoned due to a dangerous pitch. India and Sri Lanka were playing a match in Indore on December 25th that year. Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat first. Cracks were clearly visible in the new pitch, and the unusual bounce made batting extremely difficult.

Only three overs of play were possible before the pitch was inspected, and both teams and the umpires unanimously agreed to cancel the match. The cancellation of the match enraged the spectators to such an extent that a case was filed in the Indore court against the captains of both teams, Sachin Tendulkar and Arjuna Ranatunga. It was argued that the players had conspired to defraud the spectators.

There was chaos on the pitch.

The Indian team had won the first ODI of the series by 7 wickets. For the second ODI, the Indian team had requested a grass-covered, bouncy pitch. This was intended to prevent the Sri Lankan batsmen from playing strokes. However, pitch curator Narendra Menon, in contrast, prepared a pitch with large cracks visible from a distance. Menon claimed that this pitch would be conducive to both fast and spin bowling.

Following this, the Indian team management demanded a second pitch be prepared. A heated debate ensued between the team management and pitch curator, Narendra Menon, after which water was poured on the second pitch to prepare it. The process of preparing the second pitch had not progressed much when the Sri Lankan team arrived on the field. The Sri Lankan team strongly objected to the pitch change, and after the complaint, match referee Ahmed Ibrahim ordered the match to be played on the original pitch, which had large cracks visible on it.

What happened on the field during the match was evident to all. As a result, the India vs. Sri Lanka ODI match was abandoned, citing a dangerous pitch as the reason.