KARACHI: The eagerly-awaited return of One-day International cricket to Karachi ended in total catastrophe here on Friday as torrential rains wiped out the opening encounter of the three-match series between Pakistan and Sri Lanka at the National Stadium.

In what should have been the first ODI in the city after a staggering span of 3901 days (10 years, eight months and six days) after Pakistan last staged such a 50-over international — ironically against Sri Lanka on Jan 21, 2009 — the predictable announcement was made as early as 4:30pm, given the absolute deluge from the grey skies.

The outfield depicted a picture of utter misery with large puddles formed around the square which was the only spot covered by huge tarpaulin sheets after being removed, for the first time in three days, for a few hours to allow the pitch area to dry. It was an anticlimax conclusion to a bizarre day since the sun had bathed he entire ground in glorious sunshine.

With further rains forecasted until at least Monday, the fate of the second fixture now hangs in the balance before the one-day series winds up on Wednesday, which is predicted — at this point time — to be a fine, clear day for the 3:00pm start.

Sunday’s second match rescheduled for Monday

Minutes after abandonment of game one the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced, after consulting Sri Lanka Cricket, that Sunday’s second ODI has now been rescheduled for Monday to give the groundstaff sufficient time to prepare the outfield for play.

“The decision has been taken mutually by the two boards [PCB and SLC] to allow the groundstaff to prepare the playing arena after the heavy rains this week left the outfield soggy, with the groundstaff requiring two complete days, at least, to make the ground fit for play,” a PCB media release said.

Zakir Khan, the cricket board’s director of international cricket said: “This week’s unseasonal heavy rains have forced us to review the series schedule. I am thankful to Sri Lanka Cricket as well as our host broadcasters for agreeing to amend the match schedule to ensure there is no further abandonment due to rain in what is an important bilateral FTP series for Pakistan.”

Following the ODI rubber, the two teams would head to Lahore for three Twenty20 Internationals.

The expectations, meanwhile, were very high at the start of the first bilateral cricket series in Pakistan since Zimbabwe toured Lahore in 2015, but the rains had the final word.

A handful of brave spectators — roughly 200 of them — who were brought to the stadium via the special shuttle service a couple of hours before the scheduled 3:00pm start watched on forlornly as the groundstaff, under the supervision of new NSK curator Mohammad Riaz, vainly attempted to clear the accumulated water atop covers after the rains relented.

But the writing was clearly on the wall for all to see and decide beforehand the fate of the match before the arena was further inundated beyond the advertising hoardings, particularly in front of the pavilion building, resembled more like a lake when this report was being filed.

Previously there were only two ODIs at the National Stadium which were declared — Pakistan vs Australia in 1982 and Pakistan vs India in 1989 — as no-result encounters but at least those games saw some play, while the planned fixture against Australia in 1988 was abandoned without a ball being delivered because of rioting. This is the second straight ODI washout between Pakistan and Sri Lanka after the 2019 World Cup clash at Bristol was also rained off.

Eric Gauder, the seasoned Sri Lanka cricket broadcaster who had been a frequent visitor to Pakistan in the past even when his country wasn’t touring, sympathised with the PCB while saying there’s nothing one could do to fight the Mother Nature.

“Definitely it is a big shame there was no match today [Friday] because most of us were so keen on ODI cricket returning to Karachi after such a long time,” the 68-year-old Gauder told Dawn. “The PCB has done a tremendous job in convincing Sri Lankan team to tour Pakistan, which itself is a great gesture given the close relations our two nations have. I am a firm believer that bilateral sporting events serve as bridges to bring countries together.

“I have no issues at all coming to Pakistan where people are not only very friendly but extremely hospitable too and mind you, I’ve been here for a number of series and enjoyed every bit of my stay whether it was in Karachi, Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad or wherever,” Gauder added.

“I would state Sri Lanka must and should play the [scheduled] Test series against Pakistan in Pakistan because I don’t see any reason of their [Sri Lanka] reluctance. Dimuth Karunaratne [the Test and ODI captain] was personally very keen on playing this series but he was made to change his mind.”

The Sri Lankan broadcaster took exceptions to views made in a section of the media in which it was said the touring side was filled with second-rate cricketers

“Some people consider this to be a second-rate Sri Lanka team. I tell you this is a completely unfair assessment I read in the media. In fact, I would say the absence of guys like Angelo Mathews and Lasith Malinga is a blessing in disguise because this team has a number of players who are the future stars of Sri Lanka cricket. Danushka Gunathilaka is someone who’s is very special to watch. He was unlucky to miss the World Cup because he got injured,” Gauder said.

“When there is play in this series you’ll notice this team’s fielding being absolutely world-class. Don’t take them lightly.”

Roshan Abeysinghe, another well-known voice of Sri Lanka cricket, in the meantime lamented lack of necessary facilities which led to Friday’s fixture falling prey to the weather.

“In Sri Lanka we have huge coverings that envelope the entire outfield because we have so much rain. The groundstaff generally have all the bases covered most of the time apart from the fact that R. Premadasa Stadium can be a nightmare for everybody when it rains in Colombo,” Abeysinghe told Dawn. “I guess it doesn’t rain that much here in Karachi. But at least when you know the rains being around for the past week, better planning would have been helpful to get the game going.”

Published in Dawn, September 28th, 2019