NEWS
OTHER SPORTS
DIARY
PEOPLE
MATCH REPORTS
SLIDE SHOW
ARCHIVES

First day's play washed out

A cloud burst late last night made sure that the opening day's play of the three-day match between New Zealand and India 'A', at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in Pune, was washed out this morning.

Heavy showers lashing the city for the past four days put a damper on the tour opener, and though the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) made all possible effort to get the ground ready for play, the rain gods brought all their efforts to nought.

The umpires, A V Jayaprakash of Bangalore and M R Singh of Bombay, ruled out any possibility of play as the ground is heavily waterlogged and slushy. They could not even step on to the ground.

"Though the wicket is covered, the outfield is waterlogged. We will have the first inspection tomorrow if the weather conditions improve," they said.

According to the meteorological department, more rain is forecast for the next two days. As such, it is likely that the tour opener will be totally washed out without a ball being bowled.

UNI