India's hopes of staging matches in Delhi at the 2011 World Cup may be in jeopardy following the abandonment of the final one-day cricket international against Sri Lanka on Sunday due to a dangerous pitch at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground.
The fifth match in the series, in which the hosts already had an unassailable 3-1 lead, was called off after only 23.3 overs with Sri Lanka on 83-5 as wildly varying bounce made life a nightmare for the batsmen.
The tourists' captain Kumar Sangakkara, who was earlier dismissed for one run, called his players off the field and the match was finally ended after a meeting with both teams and the match officials.
The International Cricket Council has indicated that it will investigate the matter after receiving a report from match referee Alan Hurst, who released a statement later on Sunday.
"The decision to abandon the match was taken by myself, in consultation with the on-field umpires Marais Erasmus and Shavir Tarapore, and both captains, as it was clear that the pitch had extremely variable bounce and was too dangerous for further play," he said.
"I'd like to commend the on-field umpires and captains for continuing as long as they did in the hope that the pitch may settle down. Unfortunately, this did not happen.
"Before abandoning the match, consideration was given to shifting the match to a secondary pitch. However, it was deemed impractical as the secondary pitch was not adequately prepared."
The possible punishments range from a warning to the possible suspension of the venue for international matches pending successful remedial work on the playing surface.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India reacted by disbanding its Grounds and Pitches Committee, while the Delhi District Cricket Association apologized to fans and spectators and offered to refund the cost of tickets.
The DDCA has already been criticized this year for producing low-scoring pitches for the Twenty20 Champions League tournament and a one-day international against Australia in October.
The pitch, which was relaid in April, was subsequently bound with winter grass in an attempt to improve matters, but the latest changes -- and moisture in the surface due to morning fog -- have only made things worse.
The 2011 World Cup will be co-hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh after matches scheduled to be played in Pakistan were switched due to the country's security problems.
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