India and Australia are set to clash with each other in the 4th game of the five-match T20I series on Friday (1st December). The match will take place at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Stadium in Raipur.
With the game between two teams just a few hours away, there has been a bizarre thing that has come to notice. The Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Stadium in Raipur is without electricity in some crucial parts. The reason behind this has been the non-payment of the electricity bill, which has been pending since 2009, as per NDTV.
The stadium has a pending invoice of ₹ 3.16 crore. The electricity connection in the stadium has been cut since 2015. There has been a temporary connection in the stadium, which covers the fans’ gallery and boxes. The State Association will be using the generator to run the floodlights during the 4th India vs Australia game in Raipur.
Since the electricity has been cut in the stadium, three international matches have been played there. The PWD department had sent various notices to the stadium authority for the pending bills but they haven’t got any response as of yet.
President of Chhattisgarh State Cricket Sangh (CSCS) which currently manages the stadium, categorically mentioned that they have no pending bills under them. He mentioned that the dues were under the previous government department. He stated:
“We can’t comment on the previous dues of the department that the stadium was under prior to CSCS coming in. That connection where dues maybe there was in the name of the relevant government department.”
IND vs AUS: India lead the five-match T20I series 2-1
India are currently leading the series by a margin of 2-1. The young team under Suryakumar Yadav has been fantastic. They produced an exceptional performance in the first game as they chased a mammoth total of 209 runs, which is the highest by India in T20Is.
In the second game, they bagged a 44-run win as after posting 235 runs, they restricted Australia to just 191 runs. Australia however, made a staggering comeback in the third and made sure that the series stays alive. They chased a gigantic total of 223 runs with 5 wickets in hand.
