The Cyclone Hudhud, which is wrenching havoc on India’s eastern coast, has made the cricket authorities to abandon the third India-West Indies ODI in Visakhapatnam, slated for October 14. The encounter will not be rescheduled and the series has been cut short to four matches.
The conditions at the VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam were deemed unplayable so the encounter is now suspended. Team India will next lock horns with the touring party in Dharamshala on October 17, in a series that is locked at one-game apiece.
“Due to extreme weather conditions, the BCCI has had to cancel the (third) ODI,” BCCI joint secretary Anurag Thakur informed. “It is disappointing but we cannot overcome natural calamities.”
“Even though the host association was hopeful of staging the match if weather cleared, the BCCI didn’t want to take any risk,” he added.
The Indian Meteorological Department had predicted that the cyclone will make a landfall on Sunday but the Indian board decided to go against the warning and didn’t schedule the match outside the port city.
This is the second time in last five years that a match has been suspended because of extreme weather conditions. In 2009-10, an ODI between India and Australia was abandoned in Mumbai when Cyclone Phyan hit the west coast.
Both West Indies and India are currently stationed in New Delhi after the second one-dayer and will fly to Dharamshala for the fourth ODI.
