The first international match between Oman and Netherlands was washed out, without a ball being bowled, after persistent rain left large puddles on the field in Dharamsala. The result meant that Netherlands, who had launched themselves to the tournament proper in the previous World Twenty20 with a stirring run-chase, were knocked out, just two matches into their campaign this year.
Oman, coming off a proper high, having scalped Associate favourites Ireland on Wednesday, however, remained in the hunt for the Super 10s, with three points from two games. The two sides shared points, after the match was abandoned at 4.48pm local time, an hour before the cut-off time.
It had rained during the morning and overnight as well, leaving the groundstaff with an uphill task. Rain, however, had relented at 2.45pm, which was just enough for the coin to go up. Oman’s Sultan Ahmed, the oldest captain in the tournament, opted to bowl, explaining that his decision was motivated by overhead conditions.
Minutes after the toss, when the players were preparing to line up for the national anthems, rain returned, forcing the covers back on. The groundstaff, in fact, covered the entire playing area. Rain, though, only got heavier, and had the final say.
Netherlands captain Peter Borren was left despondent after his team’s campaign ended: “For it to end like this after having lost to Bangladesh in a closely-fought game, we are gutted, he said. “We could done a lot of things better in that game, it will haunt us for a while. We don’t get a lot of opportunities at this stage. As someone says, our next chance could be in four years time.”
The forecast for the second match of the day, between Bangladesh and Ireland, also looks bleak.
