The India vs New Zealand Test series was called off to a damp start as the first day of play in the series opener at Bengaluru on Wednesday (16th October) was washed out due to rain.
New Delhi: The India vs New Zealand Test series was called off to a damp start as the first day of play in the series opener at Chinnaswamy Stadium Bengaluru on Wednesday (16th October) was washed out due to rain. A continuous drizzle throughout the day ensured the groundstaff could not dry the ground on time.
Speaking of rain spoilsport, according to former India cricketer Saba Karim on Jio Cinema, the Hawk-Eye system had yet to be formatted on the ground, which was impossible on the eve of the game due to rain. The process will take 90 minutes, which made any play on Day 1 almost impossible once the first two sessions were washed out.
Talking about the run for the World Test Championship, the match has been reduced to a four-day game which will put extra pressure on the home team as they will want to win all three games in this series to be safe in the race to reach the 2023-25 World Test Championship (WTC) final before taking the flight to Australia for a blockbuster 5-match Test series.
India vs New Zealand 1st Test Day 2- Bengaluru Weather Report:
Unfortunately, the weather report makes for grim reading for the second day (Thursday, October 17) and both India and New Zealand will be at the mercy of the rain gods to kickstart the match. According to weather.com, the forecast is for no rain at 9:30 AM but the chances go up to 34% at 10:30 AM which could mean the first session is impacted.
The weather report for the second session is much better with only 9% rain predicted at 12:30 PM but there is rain predicted from 1:30 to 2:30 PM IST. The chances of rain are highest (46%) at 4:30 PM IST which will during the final hour of the day.
It is worth mentioning that, this is yet to happen, which gives both teams a chance to change their combination. India was expected to play three spinners, but the cloudy weather could mean they opt for three pacers once again.
On the side of the Blackcaps, this will be Tom Latham’s first game in charge of the team since his appointment as full-time captain in Test cricket. Meanwhile, Kane Williamson is absent due to a groin injury.
Comments are closed.