By Admin 
Cricket matches can be canceled due to many reasons. There may be rain, storm or angry fans may enter the field or the lights may go out. The match can be declared canceled due to many such reasons. But if we say that in one match the pitch was so dangerous that the match itself was canceled out of fear, would you believe it?
Dangerous pitch, match canceled
Yes, this incident happened in the year 1997, when the match was canceled due to dangerous pitch. That year, on 25th December, the match between India and Sri Lanka was being played in Indore. In the match, Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat first. Cracks were clearly visible in the new pitch, which made batting very difficult due to unusual bounce.
Only 3 overs of play could be played, after which the pitch was examined and both the teams and the umpires agreed to cancel the match. When the match was cancelled, the spectators became so enraged that a case was filed in the Indore court against the captains of both the teams, Sachin Tendulkar and Arjun Ranatunga. The argument was made that the players together cheated the spectators.
There was a ruckus on the pitch
The Indian team had won the first ODI match of the series by 7 wickets. For the second ODI, the Indian team had demanded a pitch with bounce covered with grass. Its purpose was to prevent Sri Lankan batsmen from hitting strokes. But Narendra Menon, who was the pitch curator, on the contrary, prepared such a pitch on which big cracks could be seen from a distance. Menon claimed that this pitch would be helpful for both fast and spin bowling.
After this the Indian team management demanded to prepare a second pitch. There was a heated argument between the team management and the 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 entered the field. The Sri Lankan team expressed strong objection to the change of pitch and after the complaint, the match referee Ahmed Ibrahim ordered the match to be played on the original pitch, on which huge cracks were visible.
What happened later on the field during the match was in front of everyone. As a result, the India vs Sri Lanka ODI match was canceled citing dangerous pitch as the reason.
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