India A and Australia A players’ ‘hunger’ to perform was quite literally tested in the second unofficial Test between the two teams at Alur.
The end of the first session on Day 1 of the match was delayed by half an hour because the lunch that had been dispatched from the players’ hotel was still en-route to the ground when the scheduled break for lunch was to be taken.
The match is taking place at the KSCA Ground in Alur, approximately 28 kilometres from Bangalore. The vehicle that was carrying the lunch, dispatched from Ritz Carlton hotel on Residency Road in Bangalore was reportedly stuck in heavy traffic, resulting in both players and officials confused about what the further course of action was.
The match officials had no other option but to order the play to carry on for another 30 minutes – an unprecedented situation and not one the hungry players would have liked to find themselves in.
The local Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) officials stated that they did not have a role to play in the logistics involved for the players’ lunch, which the BCCI was handling. A KSCA official said, “We were to provide the grounds, which we did. But we do not understand why they had to send for lunch from the middle of the city. Could they not have foreseen this problem and ordered food from a nearby place?”
Meanwhile Saba Karim, who is the BCCI’s cricketer operations manager said, “It’s an international game and we were to provide the best of facilities. I am waiting for a report from my staff but I think the match officials took whatever decision needed to be taken.”
Thankfully lunch was not delayed further and the players did not have to put up with a delay of more than half an hour. India A were 223/3 at stumps on Day 2 of the Test, trailing Australia A’s first innings score of 346 by 123 runs.