India vs Pakistan: Rain emerges major player in crucial match at Eden Gardens
Heavy rains lashed the City of Joy on Saturday morning keeping ground staff on tenterhooks.
Heavy rains lashed the City of Joy on Saturday morning keeping ground staff on tenterhooks.
It has rained heavy to light in Kolkata since early morning today, keeping fans on the edge about the crucial India-Pakistan match at Eden Gardens this evening. This group match is a must-win for the home team if skipper MS Dhoni’s boys want to make it to the big league.
Here are live updates from all the action in Kolkata:
6.20 pm: It has started drizzling again at Eden and getting frustrating for ground staff.
5.20 pm: Pitch inspection is at 6.30 pm after the clouds held around 5.30 following a brief spell of heavy showers.
Amitabh Bachchan arrives in Kolkata #IndvsPak #WT20 pic.twitter.com/PQ0UBMWlfW
Ranked number one in the tournament, India are under pressure after a shocking loss to New Zealand in the tournament’s Super 10 opener while Pakistan demolished Asian rivals Bangladesh by 55 runs.
It will clearly be a battle between Indian batsmen and Pakistani bowlers. \"After the loss to New Zealand, India are under far more pressure against Pakistan. I feel Pakistan start as favourites for the game on Saturday,\" said veteran Sunil Gavaskar.
However, Indian bowlers too have done a commendable job in the recent past with the likes of veteran Ashish Nehra and young Jasprit Bumrah leading the attack from the front. Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have also struck at vital moments.
There's so much love for cricket&cricketers here.They (Pak team) should think,they are playing on home ground-R Khan pic.twitter.com/zC9tImcdkU
Kolkata was washed with rains early Saturday morning, hours before the crucial group match that India need to win to keep hope afloat in the World Cup T20 championship.
The rain was pretty steady for two hours keeping ground staff on tenterhooks -- ahead of a clash that generates a completely different range of emotions among fans of both countries.
However, the skies cleared by early afternoon and there was bright sunshine. The match starts at 7.30 pm and fans would be hoping that rain gods don’t play spoilsport during this marquee clash.
This is the Norwester or the Kalbaishakhi season in Bengal and Bangladesh -- local thunderstorms and strong squalls that frequently lash the region from end March till the monsoon. Unfortunately, there is an ominous prediction of showers in the evening.
The drainage at Eden Gardens is also a perennial problem because of which several international and Indian Premier League (IPL) matches have been washed out in the past.
For this match, a golf-course pitchmaker has worked on the Eden drainage and outfield. A new super sopper machine also arrived last Sunday, taking the total super sopper count to five.
Let’s hope for rain-free action on Saturday evening. India enter as favourites after having defeated Pakistan last time the two sides met in the Asia Cup. M S Dhoni and Co will be desperate for a win after the shocking loss to New Zealand at Nagpur in the Super 10 opener.
The numbers, however, favour Pakistan when it comes to Eden, who have beaten their arch rivals four times in ODIs. They have won and lost a game each in Tests.