Practice session cancelled for two consecutive days due to rain in Kolkata

The Men in Blue continued their winning streak they had built up against the Lankans as they cruised through the first ODI against Australia in Chennai. The teams are set to play 5 ODIs with the second one scheduled to take place at the historic Eden Gardens, in Kolkata. However, the city weather is a bit dicey and the match also looks doubtful as India‘s outdoor practice session had to be cancelled for the second successive day before rain made way for bright sunshine.

In fact, the visitors too had to cancel its outdoor training session even though the covers were removed for the first time in 48 hours. Just after India left for team hotel, the sun shone over the stadium. And Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) President Sourav Ganguly was seen inspecting the pitch and ground. The pitch looks completely sound to the former Indian skipper and the local meteorological department has also given a positive weather forecast for the match.

Both the teams experienced a similar pattern on Wednesday when there was a brief spell of rain in the morning. The Australian team was subsequently compelled to train indoors for the second successive day. The weather remained cloudy throughout the afternoon when Virat Kohli and his team checked in, and towards the evening the sun was out in full glow. When it was raining, India made use of the dressing room lawn to play some volleyball.

Speaking to PTI, IMD director Ganesh Das said,  “There is no more effect of low pressure. There are some chances of rain tomorrow but the weather will clear up towards the afternoon and there will be sunshine.”

Previously, Kohli along with head coach Ravi Shastri and bowling coach Bharat Arun took a closer inspection of the pitch, which had a bit of grass and some visible bowling marks as BCCI allowed a Bengal pre-season practice match exactly a week ago. India currently lead the five-match ODI series 1-0 after a 26-run win (D/L) over Australia in a rain-curtailed match in Chennai.