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The highly-anticipated New Zealand versus India T20I series started with the opening game at Sky Stadium in Wellington being washed out without a toss. It was disappointing for both players and the fans, especially the ones who came to watch the contest at the stadium as the ground was set to host its first men’s T20I match in 20 months.
The on-field umpires Chris Brown and Wayne Knights, did their best to inspect the outfield in order to find a suitable time to start the proceedings once the rain stopped. However, that never happened, and the game was eventually called off approximately 54 minutes before the cut-off time for a 5-over contest.
While the umpires and other officials were trying to start the play, players from both sides had to remain indoors, waiting for the rain to stop and toss to happen. To pass the time, New Zealand and Indian players decided to play foot volleyball. BCCI shared a video in which Yuzvendra Chahal, Ish Sodhi and Sanju Samson were seen teaming up against Tim Southee, Michael Bracewell and Black Caps physio Tommy Simsek.
Here is the video:
#TeamIndia and New Zealand team enjoy a game of footvolley as we wait for the rain to let up.#NZvIND pic.twitter.com/8yjyJ3fTGJ
— BCCI (@BCCI) November 18, 2022
‘Youngsters of today don’t get intimidated’: Hardik Pandya
After the rain played the spoilsport, India’s stand-in captain Hardik Pandya expressed how excited his troops were but had to accept as professional cricketers.
“Boys were quite excited to play. NZ is a great country great place to play. Unfortunate, to not get a game. A lot of people came quite early as well, we were excited, but this is something we, as professional cricketers, need to accept. I know the other boys will follow exactly what the management and captain would say, they are all professionals,” said Pandya after the game was abandoned.
Notably, for this series, quite a few senior cricketers will not be seen in action, and youngsters have a great opportunity to prove themselves. Regarding the same, Pandya said the players may be young by age, but they have plenty of experience because of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
“These guys are young by age but not by experience. They have played plenty of IPL and got a good amount of Internationals as well. I think the youngsters of today don’t get intimidated by not having played too much cricket,” added Pandya.
