The Group A match of the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup between India and Canada was canceled without a single ball being bowled due to a wet outfield at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground on Saturday.
This cancellation marks the third consecutive match in this tournament at Lauderhill that has been abandoned, following similar outcomes for the Sri Lanka-Nepal and Ireland-USA matches.
Former Indian cricketers Sunil Gavaskar and Sanjay Manjrekar expressed their frustration during the broadcast, criticizing the lack of full ground coverage. They strongly urged the ICC to mandate complete coverage of venues in case of bad weather for future tournaments.
When the teams arrived, the outfield remained wet, with soggy patches around the 30-yard circle. Despite the square being covered, the gloomy skies and early morning rain, coupled with predictions of scattered thunderstorms throughout the day, led to a delayed coin toss.
An initial pitch inspection was scheduled for 8 pm IST, where umpires Richard Kettleborough and Sharfuddoula evaluated the conditions and conferred with the ground staff. A follow-up inspection was set for 9 pm IST, during which super soppers and several large hairdryers were employed to dry the outfield.
By 9:03 pm IST, after another inspection and a discussion between the umpires, the head of ground staff, and match referee Andy Pycroft, the teams were seen shaking hands, signaling the official abandonment of the match.
As a result, India, the 2007 champions, ended the group stage unbeaten with seven points from four games and will now prepare for their first Super Eight match against Afghanistan at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on June 20.
This abandonment also resulted in Canada moving ahead of the 2009 champions Pakistan to claim third place in the Group A points table. Pakistan, already eliminated from the competition, must win their final match against Ireland at Lauderhill on Sunday to secure a third-place finish in the group.
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