Rain washes out first ODI

Match abandoned Australia v India
Scorecard

The opening match of the three-game India-Australia series was abandoned without a ball being bowled in Kochi. Heavy rain before the one-dayer saturated the ground and while the weather was clear at the scheduled start time, the clouds returned to send everyone home.

It was an unfortunate result for the thousands of locals who were filling the stadium in their blue shirts. Both teams are fielding inexperienced squads so the expectation was high, but everyone will have to wait for the second match in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday.

The Kerala Cricket Association has been criticised by former BCCI secretary SK Nair, who said better arrangements with respect to drainage and scheduling could have been made to prevent an abandonment. "This was not for the first time that an international match was planned in Kochi. In the past, organisers had been able to successfully overcome whatever problems came in the way. This time too, the organisers should have put in place a plan to overcome the hitches," Nair said.

TC Mathew, the KCA secretary, responded saying all possible measures had been taken but heavy rains made it impossible for the match to take place.

The series concludes in Goa on Sunday.