Delayed start to the semi-final between Vidarbha and Karnataka

For one of the most unpredictable reasons, the start of the ongoing Ranji Trophy semi-final between Vidarbha and Karnataka was delayed in Kolkata. It was the Kolkata 25k run that became the reason for the delayed start and Vidarbha players had to bear the brunt as they arrived late in the stadium courtesy a traffic snarl.

Kolkata 25k run meant a delayed start

The Kolkata run, which was scheduled to take place in the Maidan Area near the iconic Eden Gardens, halted the Vidarbha side and they arrived as late as 8:45 am on the ground.

“We were caught in a traffic jam resulting in the delay,” a team official told reporters as Vidarbha players checked in at 8:45 a.m. and rushed through their warm-ups before the toss was organized at 9:15 a.m.

The match that was scheduled for a 9:00 am start, was delayed by half an hour to begin at 9:30 am.

However, no such problem occurred with the Karnataka team as they were staying at the Lalit Great Eastern, a hotel near the stadium whereas Vidarbha players staying at Taj Bengal, which is at a considerable distance from the stadium, faced difficulties on their way to the ground.

A senior Kolkata Traffic Police official, however, refused to take the blame.

“The team should have started early.It’s an international event and we have been publicising about this event for a long time. There have been many announcements about the traffic regulations in the media,”the official told PTI.

Journey to remember

This has been quite a journey to remember, except the one they witnessed before the start of the semi-final for the team from Eastern region of Maharashtra as they have managed to reach this far in India’s most prestigious domestic first-class tournament for the very first time.

Though, it’s debatable that Vidarbha didn’t face much competition from the likes of Chhattisgarh, Goa and Services and could manage to seek in as an easy chance but they routed Kerala in the quarter-finals which was a mark of the kind of cricket the team has been playing.

Their opponents in the semi-final have been playing the best cricket they could have after the setback last year. Karnataka’s stupendous show in their quarter-final against the 41-time title winner, Mumbai speaks volumes of their run in the current edition.

The other semi-final is being played between Delhi and Bengal at the MCA stadium, Pune.