Greater Noida. The one-off Test match between Afghanistan and New Zealand has been called off without a ball being bowled after incessant rain washed out the fifth and final day of the match. “It is still raining in Greater Noida and the authorities have called off the fifth and final day of the Afghanistan vs New Zealand Test due to incessant rain,” Afghanistan Cricket said in a statement. The city had witnessed incessant rains last week and play was disrupted on the first two days due to a damp outfield caused by poor drainage system on the ground. Then, rain intervened on the last three days and the match had to be called off without a ball being bowled. This was only the eighth such instance in Test history when a Test was called off with no play on all five days and the first since 1998.
The ongoing Test is not part of the World Test Championship but gave the Kiwis a chance to acclimatise to subcontinental conditions ahead of their two-match Test series against Sri Lanka and India in the coming months. On the other hand, Afghanistan, who have played two one-off Tests against Sri Lanka and Ireland earlier this year, are looking for their first red-ball win since 2021. Afghanistan will travel to Sharjah where they will host South Africa for three ODIs starting September 18. New Zealand, on the other hand, will travel to Sri Lanka for a two-Test series starting September 18. These Tests will be part of the World Test Championship. The one-off Test match against Afghanistan has been officially called off on the fifth day itself due to rain in Noida. New Zealand Cricket said the Test team will leave for Sri Lanka tomorrow ahead of the two-Test World Test Championship series in Galle.