Nagpur T20I - 8 overs aside match !!

After the drubbing at Mohali, India today play Australia again in a T20I at Nagpur today .. .. the match has been delayed by a wet outfield. .. .. match is about to start – India has chosen to field ! 

After more than a couple of inspections, Umpire Nitin Menon is quoted as saying that there has been lot of improvement .. ..  . "Although the conditions are not perfect, they are safe to play. And we have an eight-overs-a-side contest. The toss will take place at 9.15pm. The first ball will be bowled at 9.30pm. A bowler can bowl a maximum of two overs. The powerplay will also be of two overs. 

What would you call a 8 overs aside match ?  less than 100 balls in all – is it played for the spectators or ..  is that an overkill ?? 

There have been innovations and when a Test between England and Australia could not be played, in Jan 1971 was born a limited Overs International match – that really changed the fate of Cricket and more than  4,000 ODIs have been  played by 28 teams thus far. The frequency of matches has steadily increased.  In February 2022, against the West Indies, India played their 1,000th ODI match, becoming the first team to play one thousand matches in this format. 

Remember watching India England ODI played for 15 scheduled overs ! – and then in 28 Feb 1992, down under India played a WC match that lasted just 2 balls.  Ajay Jadeja debuted in that match played   in the city of Mackay, known as 'Sugar Capital'.  Sri Lanka won the toss and invited India to bat first. No runs were scored off  the first ball of the match.  Krishnamachari Srikkanth took a run on the second ball – then rain came pouring down, ensuring cancellation of the match.  Not many would remember that Srikkanth’s opening partner was the great Kapil Dev who walked to open an innings.    

That was not to be the shortest matches – on record there are 5 matches abandoned without a ball being bowled – West Indies being involved in 3 of them   .. read that it is a decision of ICC from June 2004 that -   "all future Test and ODI matches that are abandoned without a ball being bowled shall be included in the records provided the toss has taken place." !! strange !! 

The shortest ODI with result happens to be a match of 104 balls  played at Kirtipur in Feb 2020, Nepal bowled United States of America in 12 overs for 35 runs and scored the required runs in 5.2 overs !!  

Interesting !  

With regards – S. Sampathkumar
23.9.2022 @ 9.15 pm.