advertisement
India and New Zealand came to Nottingham unbeaten and will leave unbeaten after their Cricket World Cup group match was abandoned on Thursday because of persistent showers.
Organisers finally gave up while it was raining four and a half hours after the scheduled start at Trent Bridge.
India and New Zealand, the only unbeaten teams, split the competition points. Tournament leader New Zealand has 7 after four games, and India has 5 after three.
India is next scheduled to play Pakistan on Sunday in Manchester, and New Zealand have South Africa next Wednesday in Birmingham.
New Zealand and India get a point each from the match.
While New Zealand continue to top the points table with 7 point, India move to third spot with 5 points to replace England, who now move one place down.
This is the first time New Zealand have dropped points in the competition.
‘He (Dhawan) is gonna be in a plaster for a couple of weeks and then, we'll assess where he stands. Hopefully he heals quickly and should be available for the latter half of our league stages, and the semifinals as well.”
“As soon as you enter the field, it's all calm. All the excitement and frenzy around the game could intimidate guys who are playing for the first time. For us, it's about executing our skills and we're all professionals. It's been competitive for a while now, it's been a marquee event and it's an honor to be a part of such an event.”
Speaking after the match got abandoned, skipper Virat Kohli said: “Disappointing not to get any game time at all. From the players point of view and where the teams are placed, it was better suited not to take the field when it is not safe to play. Don't want an injury at this stage. We've been playing some good cricket, we're not too worried about where we stand. Having two wins does give you confidence. A couple of practice sessions and we should be fine. It's only about getting game time and that should happen on Sunday.”
All the spectators, who waited patiently for the last four and half hours will get a full refund.
Yet, another washout in this edition of the World Cup. Umpires Marais Erasmus and Paul Reiffel came out at 7:30 PM to make the official announcement. The rain had decreased but the ground condition were well beyond help.
Both teams share a point each.
This is the fourth match of this World Cup to be called off.
It looks like the match officials and ground officials don’t want to go down without a fight. After few rounds of heavy shower, the umpires came out at 7:00 PM (IST) for a brief to check the ground condition but a final call will only be taken at 7:30 PM IST (3:00 PM local time).
Modern Problems Require Modern Solutions
The rain forecast was already there and some fans made sure they bring in reinforcements to keep themselves busy till the time the match starts.
The heaviest downpour till now. The chances of getting a game seems really bleak!
With five minutes to go for the 6:00 PM inspection, the clouds have opened up once again. Crowd continues to wait patiently as the umbrellas start coming out.
The match needs to start in the next three hours for a 20-over game, which means the ground should be ready by 8:00 PM (3:30 PM local time).
Things not looking great at Trent Bridge. After incessant rain for two days, the area around the pitch is wet and dangerous for play.
But umpires to take a call soon.
Covers are still on and it doesn’t seem that the clouds are planning any retreat anytime soon.
The wait continues!
Another update from Trent Bridge. The next inspection is now scheduled for 6 PM IST, which is about 50 minutes from now. But umpires will also take a look at 5.30 PM
And the news from the ground via our Sports Editor Mendra Dorjey is that it is has official started raining! The umbrellas are out, and the covers are coming back on.
It has started to drizzle again at Trent Bridge. No option but to play the waiting game.
It has just been announced at Trent Bridge that inspection has been further delayed by an hour, courtesy ground condition.
Now, inspection will take place at 5 PM i.e. 12:30 PM local time.
Rain has stopped. Covers are also coming off.
The outfield is pretty wet and is expected to take time to dry up as there's no sunshine.
Umpires to inspect pitch at 4 PM i.e 11:30 AM local time.
Not good news at all!
What started as a drizzle has now got heavier before I could finish writing this. The covers are back on.
Really looks overcast!
Toss has been delayed at Trent Bridge.
Umpires to inspect the pitch at 3 pm.
But the good news coming in from Nottingham is that there is no rain and the covers are coming off.
Good News! No Rain at this Moment
Team India have arrived at Trent Bridge and as things look good for now. It may be overcast but there is no rain as of now.
Let’s pray that the rain gods are kind to the cricket fan!
Heavy rain threatens to play spoilsport yet again in a World Cup game.
It has been raining in Nottingham since the past two days. In fact, there have been persistent showers across United Kingdom for the past two days
However, as per weather forecast, there is no rain at this moment but there will be 90% cloud cover all through out the day, with around 50% chances of rain.
ICC has already received flak for hosting the tournament in England and Wales with so much rain all around and with no provision for reserve days. Already three matches have been called off at this World Cup, the most in one edition of the quadrennial tournament.
When the two sides meet again. the Indian contingent needs to be wary of some of the Kiwi match winners, who might spoil their party.
Here’s a look at the five New Zealand cricketers who might engineer India’s first loss of the competition.
India do face a dilemma ahead of the New Zealand tie as their prolific opener Shikhar Dhawan has been ruled out for three matches with a thumb injury. KL Rahul will most probably open the innings against Kiwis with Rohit Sharma.
Till date, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul have never opened together.
But, what needs to seen is who replaces Rahul at the number four position. Vijay Shankar or Dinesh Karthik?
Meanwhile, Rishabh Pant has been flown in as a cover for injured Dhawan.
The two teams have played each other on 106 occasions in ODIs, but while India boast a better record overall, New Zealand lead 4-3 in World Cups.
Before the World Cup the last time India played New Zealand was in the warm-up stage where Team India ended up losing by six wickets. Prior to that, India defeated New Zealand 4-1 in a five-match ODI series in New Zealand.
Welcome to the coverage of India’s third match at the ICC World Cup.
After defeating Australia by 36 runs at The Oval in their second match of the World Cup, the Men in Blue are now set to take on New Zealand at Trent Bridge in Nottingham.
India are undefeated in the tournament, winning both their matches. Before Australia, India had trounced South Africa in their campaign opener.
Meanwhile, apart from India the only other side in the tournament to enjoy an unbeaten runs are New Zealand. They are currently at the top of the table with 6 points.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)