MUMBAI: The year 2009 was headed for a grandstand finale for India, what with having attained the top spot in Test cricket and proudly basking on the laurels of an easy ODI series triumph over Sri Lanka. But just a handful of arrogant and irresponsible officials ruined it all.

The jubilant mood came crashing down to measure the depths of the most shameful.

Yes, India, or rather the last outpost Delhi, suffered the ignominy of having the fifth one-day international abruptly halted by the ICC match referee and later declared abandoned. That was because the pitch at the famous Feroze Shah Kotla stadium turned out to be a disaster. Substandard beyond description, the surface posed serious threat to the life and limb of the Sri Lanka batsmen.

It is a near miracle how they survived 24 overs despite painful knocks on their thigh, shoulder and neck, Mercifully, the field umpires first cried “ halt ” and then match referee Allan Hurst intervened and asserted his authority.

It was Sunil Gavaskar’s tremendous expertise of all matters cricketing that made him suspect the very natures of the pitch on his inspection as a TV commentator. After just a few overs, he did not mince words as he said, “ this is a terrible pitch.” But it took two complaints from skipper Kumar Sangakkara for the match official to call it quits.

The reaction to this disgraceful end to a match was instantaneous. Indian captain M. S. Dhoni too concurred with the match referee’s decision. Several officials and former players joined in the chorus to condemn the utter callousness of the hosts, the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA).

And surprisingly, the officials of the home association themselves remained insulated from the great shame the incident had brought upon Indian cricket. They were also impervious to the many fall-outs of the fault preparing such an unplayable wicket.

The match referee has submitted a strongly worded report to the ICC, which in turn has issued a show-cause notice to the BCCI.

Delhi will certainly not be in the reckoning for any Test matches in the immediate future. There is also the likelihood of two-year ban on the venue, which means that Delhi will not be able to host World Cup matches in 2011.

After all this, how have the top officials of the DDCA reacted? To start with, they are totally unrepentant. Here’s what they said: “Sri Lanka “chickened out” of their fifth and final ODI fearing defeat and Match Referee Alan Hurst unnecessarily called off the match.”

It will be interesting to see how the BCCI responds to ICC’s show-cause notice. But going by the adamant attitude of the Delhi and District Cricket Association officials, it looks like things will never improve at this venue, which has a history of providing poor playing surfaces. As recently as two months ago, the IPL teams had complained and Australian captain Ricky Ponting had slammed the host of their ODI match. Then it self, the ICC had warned the DDCA about their complete disregard for their responsibility.

The BCCI, on its part, will have to do much more than just sack its highly paid pitch committee. The Delhi fiasco ought to serve as a wake-up call to other match centers, which grab international fixtures merely in return for their votes to elect a regime.