Picture Credit: Twitter
India defeated Australia in a thrilling rain-affected eight-over game in Nagpur to level the series 1-1. The match which was scheduled to start at 7:00 pm IST was delayed by two and a half hours. But, thanks to all the ground staff at VCA Stadium that the umpires approved the conditions and gave the cricketing fans an entertaining fixture.
After the match, India coach Rahul Dravid made a heartwarming gesture as he took time out to interact with all the groundsmen and he applauded their efforts. The pictures of the same gesture are now doing rounds on social media. The rains didn’t stop over the last few days in Nagpur because of which the outfield and the run-up area were still wet. However, the ground staff reached the stadium by 1 PM and started preparing the venue.
Their relentless work of over seven hours helped get the ground ready for an 8-over per side match. The ground staff was earlier seen spraying sawdust for around four hours to soak up all the wet areas.
India captain Rohit Sharma also lauded the efforts of the ground staff. While speaking in the post-match presentation, he said, “They did a phenomenal job to have a game. Groundsmen have been here since 1.30 pm to get the outfield ready. So, the credit to the whole management. It’s not easy. The conditions were not easy. So, great effort from them to at least get some sort of game going for the fans who turned out in great numbers. We love coming here and play so, a lot of credit to the groundsmen.”
Similarly, Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya also posted a thank you note to the ground staff on Twitter. He posted a picture and wrote, “A big thank you to the ground staff for all their efforts in making tonight’s match happen 🙏 🤗.”