India’s training session on eve of Bengaluru Test washed out
NewsThere is a serious rain threat over the entire game, with bad weather forecast for the whole week
[File photo] Both the Indians and New Zealanders manager to get some training in on Monday  •  PTI
Persistent and occasionally heavy rain in Bengaluru has forced the cancellation of India’s training session the day before the first Test against New Zealand at the city’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium. The session, originally slotted for 9.30am, was first postponed by an hour and then cancelled altogether with the rain showing no signs of relenting.
New Zealand ‘s training session, slotted for 1.30pm, did take place*, but in the indoor facility at the BCCI’s National Cricket Academy, also in the Chinnaswamy premises.
The Indian Meteorological Department has forecast rains for the rest of the week, which could seriously affect the Test match. There is a 70% to 90% chance of rain on the first and second days of the Test, and a yellow alert has also been issued for many places in the state of Karnataka (of which Bengaluru is a part).
Bengaluru has experienced a lot of rainfall for the past week. It rained on Monday as well, two days before the game, but both teams managed to finish their respective training sessions. India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Rohit Sharma also had time to get a good look at the surface, which was followed by a long discussion with the pitch curator.
There was rain in Bengaluru all through Monday night and Tuesday morning, and the covers at the Chinnaswamy stayed in place. There was some activity when the rain stopped for a bit around 1pm, and the covers were being moved a bit, but within half an hour the clouds opened up again and the covers were back in place.
The weather had taken away roughly half the playing time of India’s last home Test, in Kanpur against Bangladesh just over two weeks ago, but India still managed to win the game with some quick run-scoring and fantastic bowling.
New Zealand’s tour of the subcontinent has also had its share of weather woes – their first Test of the tour, a non-World Test Championship (WTC) game against Afghanistan in Greater Noida, couldn’t be played at all, though the lack of proper drainage facilities at the venue played as big a role as the weather in that case.
The Chinnaswamy Stadium, however, has a world-class drainage facility. The venue has a subsurface aeration system installed, which is designed to allow play to begin within minutes of the rain ceasing.
That was apparent on Tuesday when, despite rain lashing down for close to six hours, there were no signs of puddles on the outfield. The only small pool of water was around the edges of the covers. It can be assumed that on match days, if the rain relents, play won’t take much time to resume, unlike in Kanpur where a soggy outfield delayed proceedings for hours.
India are coming into this Test on the back of a 2-0 win against Bangladesh while New Zealand suffered a 2-0 loss in Sri Lanka. India are perched at the top of the WTC rankings and a 3-0 series win here will go a long way towards helping them seal a third straight WTC final berth. New Zealand, currently placed sixth, are also not out of the race yet.
*The article was updated at 9am GMT on October 15, 2024
Ashish Pant is a sub-editor with ESPNcricinfo
