A bright sunny day is what all expect during a cricket match. But today play was stopped due to bright sunlight in Napier immediately after the dinner break. It was the first ODI between India and New Zealand. New Zealand were all out 157 thanks to brilliant spells by Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammad Shami earlier in the day. India was on 41 for no loss while chasing the target and dinner break was taken. After the break, Rohit Sharma was dismissed during the first over of Doug Bracewell struck. Virat Kohli walked out to bat and faced four balls before the play was stopped for half an hour. The setting sunlight was coming in the line of the view of the batsmen making the ball spotting difficult for them.
Rain and bad light have often stopped play but this was a bizarre situation for everyone at McLean Park. Even this was a surprise for umpires Shaun Haig and Shaun George as well. "The setting sun is directly in the eyes of the batsmen. So we got to consider the safety of the players, umpires. So we have decided to suspend play until conditions improve," Haug said. Usually, cricket pitches are positioned in North-South direction but at McLean Park, it is East-West Facing. Hence, the problem was created by setting sun.
Napier experienced such incident in the past but only during the domestic competitions. Mayor of Napier said, "We were very conscious that this would happen and had made a plan for it. We are working with a plan to sort this issue. We are absolutely committed to make this the biggest multi-use sports ground in New Zealand."
Indian captain Virat Kohli said, "It was funny. In 2014, I got out once with the sun in my eyes and this rule wasn't there then,". The target was revised by two runs and the match shortened by an over. India finally won the match comfortably by eight wickets in 34.5 overs.
