Wet outfield delays start of cricket test between Afghanistan and New Zealand

GREATER NOIDA, India (AP) — The start of the cricket test match between Afghanistan and New Zealand was postponed Monday because the outfield was wet due to persistent rains around India's national capital region over the past week.

The coin toss was initially postponed for 30 minutes before umpires Kumar Dharmasena and Sharfuddoula Saikat further postponed the match for at least 90 minutes. The lunch break was called without any play in the first session.

The sun shone brightly in the morning, which increased the chances of playing later in the day.

This will be Afghanistan's third cricket Test in 2024, after single matches against Ireland and Sri Lanka.

New Zealand begins a three-month subcontinent tour that includes series against Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and India.

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Squads:

Afghanistan (from): Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Riaz Hassan, Hashmatullah Shahidi (captain), Ikram Alikhil, Bahir Shah, Shahidullah Kamal, Azmatullah Omarzai, Qais Ahmad, Zahir Khan, Khalil Ahmed, Zia-ur-Rehman, Afsar Zazai, Nijat Masood, Shamsurrahman, Abdul Malik

New Zealand (from): Devon Conway, Tom Latham, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Will Young, Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner, Ajaz Patel, Tim Southee (captain), Matt Henry, Tom Blundell, Rachin Ravindra, Ben Sears, William O'Rourke

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AP Cricket: