Old pictures of pitch being dried up with hairdryers falsely linked to IPL final
The pictures date back to 2020 and show ground persons drying the pitch at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati, Assam.
By Md Mahfooz Alam Published on 31 May 2023 7:44 AM GMT
(Source: Twitter/@SportsT24_)
Social media users are sharing two pictures claiming it shows pitch being dried up with hairdryers and irons.
Taking a dig at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), users claim that the pictures show the pitch being dried up during the 2023 IPL final match at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
(Source: Twitter/@SportsT24_)
The final match of the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL), between Gujarat Titans (GT) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK), was interrupted due to the rains. CSK won their fifth title on the reserve day against the defending champions GT, defeating them by five wickets on 29 May.
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the pictures date back to 2020 and show ground persons drying the pitch at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati, Assam.
On performing a reverse image search of both pictures, we found them used in a report by Outlook from 6 January 202. As per the report, the pictures are from the first T20 International cricket match between India and Sri Lanka on 5 January 2020 which was abandoned due to wet patches on the pitch.
(Source: Outlook)
On 5 January 2020, ESPN Cricinfo tweeted a similar picture and said strange items like hairdryers, steam irons, and vacuum cleaners were used to dry the pitch at Guwahati.
The Quint also reported the same on 6 January 2020.
Hence, we conclude that the pictures date back to 2020 and do not show the pitch being dried up during the 2023 IPL final at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
