Soon after arriving in Kanpur around 5.30 pm, Malik and coach Geoff Lawson left for the ground. By the time he reached the ground, the covers were on and their request did not cut ice with curator Shiv Kumar, who said it had to be covered to shield it from dew.

Malik was naturally upset as the side would have to virtually start playing on Sunday without much of an idea about the track they would be playing on, a Pakistani team official told PTI.