Grounds for appeal

Toss: Sri Lanka. International debut: H. H. Kanitkar

For the first time, an international match was called off because the pitch was judged unsafe. Both teams had been surprised by its dry and cracked look, but Sri Lanka batted, believing the pitch could only deteriorate with use. They lost Kaluwitharana in the first over and, after off-spinner Chauhan bowled the second, Mahanama was hit on the knuckles by Srinath. At the end of the third over, the batsmen appealed to umpire Porel, who immediately summoned referee Ahmed Ebrahim of Zimbabwe. Play was suspended and, an hour later, called off, on the grounds that the pitch was crumbling so fast that batting was dangerous. Madhya Pradesh officials were upset by the haste of the decision, saying that they had offered to prepare an alternative strip.