Failure to pay bill! Raipur stadium set to host India vs Australia 4th T20I without electricity

India and Australia are set to lock horns with each other in the fourth T20I at the Shaheed Vir Narayan Singh Stadium in Raipur on Friday, December 1. However, a major challenge loomed hours before the decisive encounter. A substantial part of the stadium is without electricity due to non-payment of electricity bills since 2009. 

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According to an NDTV report, the stadium has a staggering bill of ₹ 3.16 crore, due to which the electricity connection here was disconnected 5 years ago. Although a temporary electrical connection is in place, it serves only the spectators' gallery and boxes. This means that stadium authorities may have to use generators to power the floodlights for the match. 

Raipur Rural Circle in-charge Ashok Khandelwal said that the cricket association secretary has applied to increase the capacity of the temporary connection. It is learned that an application for raising the capacity to 1000 KV has been approved but the work has not started yet. 

Chhattisgarh State Cricket Sangh media coordinator Tarunesh Singh Parihar said they are concerned about hosting international matches at the Shaheed Vir Narayan Singh Stadium. He said they use generators as an alternative for big matches. "As far as the stadium lights are concerned, I don't know how much bill is outstanding but a temporary connection has been taken in the name of CSCS," Mr Parihar said.

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Meanwhile, the match is crucial for Australia to be in the hunt. India are currently leading the series 2-1. Glenn Maxwell's stunning century gave visitors a thrilling win in the third T20I. But he will not be playing in the upcoming matches. A win for Suryakumar Yadav and Co. on Friday means the Men in Blue clinch the series.

IND vs AUS 4th T20I: Probable Playing XI

India Probable XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan(w), Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar 

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Australia Probable XI: Travis Head, Matt Short, Aaron Hardie, Ben McDermott, Matthew Wade(w/c), Tim David, Chris Green, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Jason Behrendorff, Tanveer Sangha