Railways vs Punjab Ranji Trophy clash to be restarted after pitch adjudged 'dangerous and unfit for play' on Day 2 

The ongoing Ranji Trophy between Railways and Punjab will start afresh from Day 1 after the pitch at the Karnail Singh Stadium in Delhi was deemed to be 'dangerous and unfit for play'. Play was abandoned on the second day, eight overs into Punjab's second innings.

The Mandeep Singh-led side were reduced to 18-3 before play was halted. A total of 24 wickets fell over the course of 102.1 overs. The pacers accounted for 20 scalps, with Adarsh Singh and Baltej Singh recording five-wicket hauls in the first innings for their respective sides.

During the first drinks break on Day 2 at the venue, on-field umpires K Madanagopal and Rajeev Godara intimated match referee Youraj Singh over the state of the pitch, which had left the batters in quite bad shape. Following consultation between the match officials, the captains Mandeep Singh and Karn Sharma were informed of the situation as well.

The decision to restart the match on a fresh surface, the one adjoining the pitch in question, was taken. The rescheduled Ranji Trophy encounter is slated to begin on Thursday, December 22. The toss will also be re-conducted, allowing the teams to make any prospective changes to their playing XI. A Railways team official told ESPN Cricinfo:

"They could have repaired the surface and resumed on the third day from where the match was stopped, but the match officials decided to play on a fresh surface. We were in a fantastic position but will possibly lose out on a chance to win because of this decision."

The recently concluded Test between Australia and England saw 34 wickets fall within two days. The pitch, however, was not deemed unsafe and instead got a 'below average' rating by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

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"Some balls hit the gloves, others scooted low at shoe-height from the same spot" - A player involved in the Railways vs Punjab Ranji Trophy clash

In what was the Round 2 of the Ranji Trophy group stage, Punjab were bundled out for 162 midway through the first day of the match. A steady 54-run opening wicket partnership between Abhishek Sharma and Prabhsimran Singh was the lone positive for the side.

The second half of the day's play saw Railways being bowled out for 150. Yuvraj Singh's counter-attacking 56 runs emerged as the highlight as six batters failed to record double-figures.

A player involved in the Ranji Trophy contest told ESPN Cricinfo after the day's play was suspended:

"The pitch was uneven. Some balls hit the gloves, others scooted low at shoe-height from the same spot. It was a green wicket but the match officials decided it was too uneven and inconsistent for play to continue."

This is not the first occasion where the surface at the Karnail Singh Stadium has been in the spotlight for the wrong reasons. In 2011, the venue was put on a watchlist by the BCCI's Technical Committee over poor quality pitches.

Moreover, the venue was handed a two-year ban in 2012 following a huge controversy that involved local curators preparing raw pitches to help the Railways' qualification cause in the Ranji Trophy.

Railways returned to the venue after the ban was lifted. They played in Bhubaneshwar, Orissa, while the stadium was serving time.

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