Match referee Roshan Mohanama along with the two field umpires S Ravi and Nigel Llong inspected the wet conditions at the Barabati Stadium at 11am and declared the ground unfit for play. Although the pitch had been kept covered, incessant rain over the last few days rendered the outfield soggy, making it unsuitable for the game.
The three-day practice match between the visiting West Indies side and Uttar Pradesh Cricket Academy, scheduled to be held at the same venue from Thursday, has been shifted to Jadavpur University's Salt Lake campus ground in Kolkata.
OCA secretary Ashirbad Behera informed that although weather conditions had here, the condition of the ground is such that it would take at least a week to make it ready for an international match. The OCA had, therefore, requested the BCCI to shift that match out of Cuttack.
The OCA was even prepared to hire helicopters to hasten the drying up operations in a bid to get Saturday's ODI going. However, the service providers, who inspected the ground, felt that while it is possible to dry up the surface, it would not be possible to improve the underfoot conditions significantly as the mud under the grass in the outfield was too soggy.
The venue thus turned jinxed for both the teams as the last match between the two sides here on October 27, 1996 had also been washed out without a ball being bowled. While the Indian team did not even turn up at the venue, the Australians came down in the afternoon for some light practice at the OCA's indoor facility.
Australian opener Aaron Finch felt "it's good to be 2-1 up in the series", but said with two more games to go, "it becomes a mini series now." Although he was disappointed the back-to-back washouts, the opener felt "irrespective of whether it's a seven-match or five-match series the best team will come up trumps. We have to win just one more match and so are obviously happy to be in this situation. We are confident as we are playing good cricket at the moment."
However, he agreed that India too are doing badly. "They were in a better position the other night (in Ranchi) when the match was called off," he stated.
The battle for the series honours is definitely not over yet.
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