 Rain affects second day's play as well
Chennai, Dec 3: The first cricket Test between India and Sri Lanka failed to take off on the second day as well with overnight rains rendering the outfield wet and unfit to play. No rains since morning, barring a drizzle that lasted for barely a couple of minutes in the afternoon and a mild sunshine did not prove for play to begin. The two umpires Daryl Harper of Australia and Mark Benson from England inspected the M A Chidambaram ground at 1 pm before deciding to abandon the second day's play. Indian skipper Rahul Dravid, accompanied by coach Greg Chappell, also did a round of the stadium but only to return disappointed. The rains, being caused by Cyclone Baaz in the Bay of Bengal, have effectively ruined chances of the game going full throttle with no let-up in wet weather conditions predicted for the next couple of days as well.
However, if the rain Gods do relent, play in the next three days would begin at 9.00 am with a minimum of 97 overs to be bowled each day to make up for the lost time. No play was possible on the first day as well due to heavy downpour. This is the second time in two weeks that rains have disrupted an international fixture following the November 22 washout of the one-dayer between India and South Africa. The current Test match is the fourth successive international contest here to be affected by rain since 2003, when the India-New Zealand one-dayer failed to produce a result.
Last year, the final day of a Test match featuring India and Australia was rained off with India neatly poised for a victory. For the cricket-crazy Chennai crowd, it has been a very disappointing few days. With their claims of ticket refund for the India-South Africa one-dayer still entangled in legalities, they are now faced with a similar fate this time around as well. That apart, their wait to see their star reach a historic milestone, is also getting prolonged as Sachin Tendulkar is just one ton short of a world record 35th Test century.
The match has also assumed added importance in the wake of a possible return to the field by dethroned captain Sourav Ganguly who was ignored for the one-day series against Sri Lanka and South Africa. Both the teams have not announced their playing elevens as
yet. (Our Correspondent)
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